


Blood in the water

by HappyCamperSunny



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: (mentioned) - Freeform, Canon-Typical Violence, Dirty Talk, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff, Frottage, M/M, Minor Character Death, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Prison, Size Difference, Slow Burn, Spanking, Tao is NOT a child, but for a good cause
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-01-26 20:55:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 45,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12566008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyCamperSunny/pseuds/HappyCamperSunny
Summary: Takaba Akihito spent most of his teenage years in juvenile training school, after turning 21 he is transferred to an adult prison. As you can imagine, all goes well <.<





	1. Fresh meat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito is transferred into his new home. 
> 
> Sorry, I'm terrible at summaries. Please let me know, if you find grammar or spelling mistakes. English is my second language and I'm still learning :) 
> 
> Also, I'd like to spoil that Aki is not a cold-blooded murderer in this fic, in case I didn't make it clear enough. 
> 
> This is my first attempt at Finder fanfiction.

The streets, cities and beautiful mountain roads only ever seemed to rush him by or stretch on endlessly. It was impossible to say how long they were already on the road.  
They stretched on endlessly whenever he managed to actually look out the window and rushed him by as soon as his whirring thoughts took over. 

Akihito was thankful for every inch the cramped bus put between him and the juvenile training school while dreading every millimeter he got closer to the adult prison awaiting him. He cursed himself for not being able to stick to the rules of the damn school long enough to convince the warden that „rehabilitation“ in prison was unnecessary. But he had been unable to help himself.  
Standing to attention, reciting school rules, laws and prayers wasn’t something he would ever be good at. It didn’t even matter that he understood every damn thing he was reciting day by day, he just couldn't manage to look meek and disciplined enough while doing it. And no hours of kneeling or solitary confinement would ever change that.  
He was too twitchy, his impulse to move overrode everything, no matter how hard he tried. Trying to explain his difficulties to the warden had been unsuccessful, of course. 

Apparently, rehabilitation meant to remain motionless even if every muscle of his body rebelled against his brain's commands. Aki wasn't ready to be let loose on the world again until he'd learn to control his impulses, the warden concluded.  
And according to the judge, the warden's assessment of him was correct. Two more years to learn to control his impulses were coming his way and there was nothing he could do about it.

Two years before he could hope to start to make amends for that fateful night five years ago. No matter what would happen to him in prison, he had to survive. Kou would never come back and his parents deserved someone to take care of them. He'd try to make up for the loss of their son, even if he was doomed to fail.

Prison. Aki fought down nausea that threatened to take him over at the thought. He could fight back against the other teens at the school but he had no illusions about holding his own against hardened criminals.  
His knuckles still hurt from putting his fist through Arata’s face this morning when the bastard had insinuated just what he’d have to do for his new cellmate once the doors closed behind him. This morning he had been outraged and ready to fight, now he was just scared.  
There would be nothing he could do if a man bigger, stronger and meaner than him actually demanded any kind of favors from him. The mere thought of it made his stomach churn.  
He was screwed in any way imaginable. The warden had recommended two years in prison to the judge, who had complied with the recommendation. So much lost because he couldn't control his thirst for adventure... 

It had been six years already but the constant circle of anger, grief, and self-reproach never changed. He was responsible for Kou's death- how was he supposed to get over his guilt? There would never be a sentence severe enough to absolve him.  
He had to survive the next two years. That's all he could reasonably hope for: to live long enough to make amends. 

The sound of a siren brought an abrupt end to Akihito's musings. A nervous glance out of the barred window confirmed their arrival at the gate of Fuchū Prison.

************

Being processed had been a whole lot more humiliating than Akihito had feared. Just this morning, he had been convinced that the guards at the juvenile training school were anal about details but they, at least, didn't take it to the literal sense the guards in Fuchū did.  
Now, an hour later, he was still slightly damp from his mandatory shower and dwarfed by the ill-fitting moss green prison uniform.  
The warden had given his spiel about the strict schedule everyone was to follow and the disciplinary measures that would be taken if needed, which left them with only one more task: the track to their new homes. 

Fear slowly won out over all residual embarrassment. His cell-mate could either be his doom or his first ally.  
The men in front of him started to move, prompting Akihito to fall into step. The climbed two stairways, interrupted by just as many locked gates. The second of them gave way to a corridor, which again ended in bars. Two guards were waiting behind the gate and started to read out names as soon as they stopped in front of the bars.  
Akihito's already rigid spine tried to straighten in vain when his name was called. He was told to form a new line with the other prisoners and follow the two new guards into D wing. 

D wing. Akihito didn't know enough about Fuchū to deduce anything from being placed in this wing. Was D a high-security wing? Non-violent offenders? Middle ground?  
"Takaba Akihito, step into cell 34-97." Aki had kept his eyes on the ground, as prisoner after prisoner left the queue to step into their respective cell. A quick glance to the left was all he needed, 34-97 was towards the end of the corridor and apparently already inhabited by another prisoner.  
The queue started moving past him towards another corridor.  
With a churning belly, he stepped into his new home. When he noticed his cellie on the higher bunk bed, he nearly dropped his stack of clothes and toiletries.  
They stared at each other in shock for a few seconds. 

"Aki!", the boy jumped down from his bed.  
Tao. How could Tao end up in this prison?  
The boy had been 19 when he had been whisked away from the juvenile training school one year ago to God knows where.  
"How....", Akihito didn't even know how to finish his question. Why would anyone place him in an adult prison?  
Tao made to hug him but suddenly stopped short. 

"Problem?"  
Akihito froze at the deep voice coming from the doorway. An abrupt turn revealed a tall, deceptively calm man.  
"I'm fine, Yoh-san", Tao's timid voice set Aki on edge. What had happened to the loud, self-assured boy to make him sound like this?  
"I know him. Aki is a friend."

Light brown eyes scrutinized him for a few endless seconds until he was carelessly dismissed as non-threatening.  
"Feilong-sama has business to take care of. He wants his cell cleaned and sheets washed."  
Tao nodded rapidly and stepped around Akihito, he hesitantly turned before stepping out into the hallway: "I'll be back tonight, Aki. You can have the lower bunk, okay?" 

Before he could respond, Tao was hurrying after the hulking man. 

Aki tossed his belongings on the small table before slumping down on his bed. Apparently, Tao had to go and play cleaning-lady for someone named Feilong. And Feilong was a big shot if other prisoners practically fell over themselves to follow his orders.  
There were hierarchies in juvenile training schools but he was reasonably sure that they had to be taken much more seriously here if he wanted to get out at the end of his sentence. 

Tao had been a tough kid when he had left. No one had dared to mess with him and the few who did hadn't known what hit them.  
Aki remembered the day one of the school's bullies had tried to go after the boy... it had been one week before he vanished. Apparently, Sakazaki had tried to surprise him with an iron pipe and found himself at the end of it instead. Of course, in the guards' version, Tao had attacked Sakazaki unprovoked, which led to solitary confinement and a transfer to an adult prison. At least, if Akihito's reasoning was correct.  
If Fuchū turned strong, brash Tao into a scared boy, Aki didn't even want to know how he would turn out at the end of his sentence. 

******

It didn't take long for Akihito to find out what exactly was in store for him. Dinner had been uneventful, as could be expected by a meal closely supervised by armed guards. The way back to his cell was when things started to change, precisely the moment he was surrounded by a group of other prisoners and boxed into a corner.  
He had noticed the eyes on himself before but had done his best to ignore them. He was fresh meat, of course, he would be scrutinized for the first few days. 

What he didn't expect was to be mobbed, groped and passed around for everyone to cop a feel. He was tossed around, pulled and pushed, held down, lifted off the floor and- 

Suddenly released when someone barrelled into him. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" 

Akihito was pulled to his feet by an utterly terrified Tao. The boy dragged him away from the mob, towards the tall man who came to collect him earlier. "Yoh-san, please"- 

"Has Feilong-sama claimed this one too?" The question came from a heavily tattooed man in the center of the mob. He could feel the rise of tension in Tao's body "Please, Yoh-san"- 

"What's all the commotion about, Yoh?" Everyone in the hallway, apart from the calm bodyguard startled at the imperious voice from the stairs. A tall, elegant man entered the corridor, long, silky hair put up in a heavy ponytail. 

"Tao put his nose where it doesn't belong, Feilong-sama." If possible, Tao stiffened up even more. An amused smile curled around the man's lips. 

Aki had been right about the man. He was a big shot in here. The shift in the atmosphere was palpable. 

"I assume this is the friend you informed me about?" After a short nod of confirmation from Yoh, Feilong moved towards him. "Let me have a look at your little friend, pet."

Tao's death grip on his arm eased gradually until he stumbled to the side to make way for the man.  
Long, surprisingly soft fingers tipped his head upwards and forced him to look right into deep brown eyes. They skimmed over his face, his unusual hair color, light eyes and rested on his left cheek.  
With the adrenaline ebbing away, he could start to feel the throb of a bruise on his face. 

The hand left his face and Feilong turned towards the men still crowded in the corner. "I apologize, my pet was worried for his friend. Please conduct such thorough inspections of fresh meat where he can't see it." 

Akihito felt like he had been punched in the gut. Do it where Tao can't see it?! Was this guy serious??

"Feilong-sama, please", Tao was wringing his hands and Aki's stomach started to churn again. Please, don't let Tao do anything stupid. Whoever this Feilong was, he was not a man to be angered, that much was clear. 

To his surprise, an amused smile was Feilong's only outward reaction.  
"Stray pets only need to ask for an owner in here, you know that Tao", Aki froze up again when the dangerous eyes landed on him, "As he is your friend, I'll do him the favor of helping him find a good home, should he ask me for help." 

Help him find a good home. In prison. Akihito choked on air and started coughing.  
"Thank you, Feilong-sama", only Tao's genuine thankfulness at this "favor" was worse than the idea of being passed off to a guy of this man's choosing. 

"I don't need a HOME!"  
"Aki!", Tao had the actual audacity to put his hand over his mouth, "Thank you, Feilong-sama. May I take him back to our cell?"

Tao drew his hand away inside the relative safety of their cell. The forced silence had given Akihito ample time to process what had just happend.  
As much as he hated it, he owed Tao for getting Feilong on his side. He owed him a lot. 


	2. Circling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I held out until Thursday, not Friday as I thought. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your kind comments and kudos, I'm still very nervous about posting this and your responses help so much to reassure me. 
> 
> Still no Asami for this chapter, but I promise he'll join the fun in the next. 
> 
> Please be patient, I'll work a lot the next few days so it might take me a bit longer to post again.
> 
> Enjoy <3

Akihito could feel his whole body tense up when Hitomi entered the yard. He remained tense until the man vanished in the fenced in the gym on the far end of the yard.  
He swallowed convulsively before addressing Tao „He never tries things when you’re around.“  
The boy nodded and seemed to hesitate for a moment. „Feilong-sama said they can't.“

The naked want that gripped him made Akihito’s face color in shame. Gods, he wished he had someone who kept the bastards away forever.  
It had only been a week but he was tired, tired of the permanent fear and fighting.  
He never knew when he’d round a corner just to be snatched by greedy hands and manhandled out of view.  
The first few times he had always fought back, hissing and spitting in rage and swiping at anything or anyone who got close enough. But there were too many men to fight off, it never stopped.  
He’d fight off Reji and his gang just to stumble into Kauro. It was like the worst kind of whack-a-mole, one gang of predators down, another showed up.  
He hated the fearful shadow of a man he was becoming. Akihito didn’t recognize the face staring back in the mirror anymore.  
He couldn’t sleep through the night or eat because he was a nervous mess and he was starting to stink. After days of avoiding the shower rooms, he felt disgusting. The itch of old sweat on his skin was humiliating, yet his fear of being cornered in the showers was great enough to bear the humiliation a little longer. He didn’t know how long he would be able to keep going.  
Fighting back got harder and harder every time they found him. No matter how hard he tried, there were too many of them to allow him even a slither of a chance. Sometimes he wasn't even sure why he fought back anymore.  
It was only a matter of time until someone would get to him. All he could do was wait and see who would make a pass at him in a weak moment.

At some point, he would be overwhelmed and forced to endure whatever they wanted to do to him. And he would have to live with himself afterward.  
Akihito knew that two years of being assaulted by all these men would be too much. If they got to him, his resolve to reach out to Kou's parents would trickle away, just as fast as his will to live would.  
It was hard to tell what pained him more, the certainty of his own death or the anguish of failing his friend's parents yet again.  
He didn't want to die, knowing he had done it again. Giving up was not an option, he needed to make his amends.  
"Would Feilong-sama really help me?" The words were heavy as lead on his tongue but they needed to be said.  
Tao began to tug at a loose thread close to his knee "He would. Just be sure you really want his help, Aki."  
Want...as if any of this concerned his wants. "I need it, Tao." He soldiered on while the humiliation sent hot flashes through his body "You know it and... I know it too. I need to get out of here alive."

For a long moment, his friend remained silent. The tension in his body rose visibly until he finally replied.

"They call us pets here, right? Strays while we're on our own, pets once we have a home", the boy's gaze remained on the floor, "It's better than bitch or punk but in the end...it's all the same." ` _Pet_ ´, Aki remembered Feilong addressing Tao by that name.  
"It's safer to have someone who looks out for you. I wouldn't even be alive today if Feilong-sama didn't take me in. It just"- Tao finally looked at him again.  
"It messes with your head, Aki. I constantly worry about angering him, about being on my own again. I hate it." The passionate, angry sparkle in the dark eyes made him resemble a younger version of himself. The Tao Akihito had met back in school.  
"You know who I was before! I fought my own battles, I never backed down. This fucking place broke me.  
I became someone I never, ever wanted to be. It ground me down until I couldn't fight anymore. I needed someone to protect me. And now?  
Now I'm not a man anymore. I'm not even a person, in this world, I'm a pet and I can't ever be anything else."  
Tao balled his hands into fists.  
"I rush to clean his damn cell, every millimeter of it. I go down on my hands and knees and scrub until my back kills me and my hands are raw. And if he wants to, I'll suck his cock until my jaw falls off." Dark eyes shone angrily at him, daring him to judge him.  
"I'd even let him fuck me if he wanted to", the flickers of uncertainty and shame on his face physically hurt Akihito. "He could do whatever he wants to me and I'd let him."

Before Aki could even open his mouth, Tao spoke again "I don't want to change your mind about getting help. It's just... I want you to know what you're getting into. You'll be safe, but at the same time, that safety is a reminder of what you can lose. Of what you've already lost.  
You'll be forced to learn to depend on your owner until you can't even imagine being on your own again."  
Aki could feel himself mirror the emotion behind the tremble in his friend's voice. The longing for another reality and the fear of losing what little good he had in his life.  
He wanted that little bit of good too.

"Is it worth it?" his voice was just above a whisper.  
A complicated mix of emotions flickered over Tao's face "Yes. Feilong-sama is very good to me."  
Just a little bit of fear trickled down Akihito's spine. Feilong already had a pet.  
  
"He said he'd find me a good home."  
A jerky nod answered him "He will. He'll find you a good man."  
_Will_... They both already knew that it wasn't a would anymore.  
The trickle of fear turned into hot embarrassment "Ask him for me, please?"

************

Aki didn't even look up when Tao jumped down from his bunk. Yoh always came to collect his friend after lunch.  
Today though, Yoh didn't walk off right away like he usually did.  
"Feilong-sama wishes to speak to you, Takaba." Fearful excitement rushed through the blonde's body. _Showtime._

They were herded to the end of their corridor, up to a flight of stairs and through a few gates into another wing.  
Their journey made Aki wonder just how much power Feilong had, as gates were opened for them without hesitation or question. The only time they were stopped was just before entering F wing. Even then, the guard only wrote down Akihito's registration number, name and time of arrival and let them pass as soon as he was done.

The hallway in F wing differed from theirs. No bars were visible, just concrete walls, lined with four metal doors on each side.  
They came to a halt in front of the second to the last door on the left.  
Yoh knocked respectfully and stepped aside as soon as an "Enter" could be heard from the inside.  
The bodyguard nodded to Tao and entered the cell next door.

Akihito's body felt stiff from nervousness. This meeting would decide what the rest of his life would look like.  
Tao immediately opened the door and bowed as soon as he entered the room. Slightly shaky, Aki copied him.

When he lifted his head, he couldn't believe what he saw. Three cells of D wing would easily fit inside this ballroom of a prison cell.  
Feilong lounged on his bed and watched him with an amused tilt to his lips.  
And it was a bed, not a narrow, hard bunk like theirs was.  
There was a table with four chairs, a built-in wardrobe with a lacquered metal doors, shelves, a swivel-mounted TV and a tiny, basic kitchenette.  
But most shocking to Aki was the metal door at the foot of the bed. A cell with an adjacent room? Really?  
What kind of luxury wing was this?

"Tao, my hair needs brushing." Before Akihito could even process the request, Tao rushed through the same door he had just gawked at and came back with a brush and comb.  
This bastard really had an adjacent bathroom.

"Now", Akihito flinched when Feilong finally addressed him, "Tao tells me that you'd like to speak to me about something."  
_Something_... the man would make him ask for help. Feilong clearly caught the rebellious lick of anger that washed through him and Aki immediately felt it being chased away by fear. Slanted eyes narrowed dangerously and the amusement in them gave way to coldness.

"Yes, Feilong-sama." He couldn't afford to anger the man.  
"I'd like to take you up on your offer and... hope that you'll help me find a"- He faltered.  
He could do this. He had to.  
"A good home", he managed to force out. "I need one."

His previous outburst of "I don't need a HOME!" was bullshit and if he was right about Feilong, he needed to acknowledge that if he hoped to receive any help.  
Something in him unclenched, the amusement was back.  
  
"Pretty strays always do." The fond little pat the man gave Tao's knee made Akihito feel like he was witnessing something private.  
Tao was kneeling behind Feilong, on the mattress, and carefully detangling the man's heavy, silky hair with a wide-set comb.

His friend was entirely focused on his work, Aki wasn't even sure if he was listening to their conversation.

"I will help you for being a good friend to my pet", the slight accent to Feilong's Japanese made him wonder how the man had ended up in Fuchu. "And because I know a man who would enjoy a brash little brat to domesticate."  
Brat, domesticate. Aki did his best to swallow his fear.  
"Until I gift you to him, I'll expect you to obey me."  
Of course. Aki nodded and bowed deeply. If he wanted this man to help him, he had to show him that he wouldn't disgrace him by being a failure as a pet.  
Or Feilong just enjoyed his power.

"Go over to the kitchenette and make tea."  
Tao was still carefully detangling a strand of hair and made no haste to move.  
Jerkily, Aki moved towards the small kitchen.  
He filled the water kettle in the sink and started boiling it. The tea was easy to find, perched on a shelf just above the sink. A mere look at the ceramic box was enough to determine that he was dealing with expensive tea.  
When the water was just shy of the boiling point, he switched the kettle off, poured the water into a teapot and added the fragrant leaves.  
The smell made his mouth water: it had been so long since he had had quality tea, not the bitter, sour leftover dust they passed off as tea in the prison system.

He grabbed a teacup from the shelf and offered it to Feilong, who took it with a graceful flick of his hand.  
When the tea was ready, he made his way back to the bed to serve it. His hand shook, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.  
Feilong agreed to help him, spilling hot tea on him though would probably still change his mind.

A few breathless seconds later, he received a nod of approval.  
"Good. Get two more cups and pour one for Tao and yourself."  
Nervous, giddy joy punched him in the gut.  
He grabbed the cups as fast as he could and hurriedly poured.

When he tried to offer Tao his cup, it was snatched away by Feilong, who proceeded held it up to Tao's lips: "Guāiguāi." Tao took a careful sip, smiled and reached for the brush again.  
Slightly unsure of himself, Akihito knelt down a few feet away. The first sip of his tea was incredible. It was a subtle, slightly malty flavor. He couldn't remember ever having tea this good.

For a few minutes, they all enjoyed their tea in silence. Aki even managed to relax a bit, until he was addressed again "Do you enjoy your reward, little stray?"  
Reward?

He could hear an amused lilt in the accented voice "You didn't think being safe from the hungry masses was the only advantage of being kept, did you?"  
Yes, actually, he did.  
The face he pulled seemed to be answer enough.

"He'll have such fun with you", the laugh that followed sounded slightly ominous to Aki. "Tao, you can pull it up into a ponytail now."

That was that, his visit to Feilong's luxury cell.  
He got tea, a promise of safety and, finally, a safe, undisturbed shower thanks to Yoh's supervision.

All he had to do now, was wait to be gifted to whoever Feilong had in mind.


	3. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter :D Work was a lot.  
> I'll get to your comments later today <3 
> 
> Here's some of my research material, if you're interested:  
> http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0032885511409891

Akihito slept like a log, for the first time since he was transferred. Good tea, a warm, safe shower and pure exhaustion had him down for the count.  
Returning to his cell after the shower, he had felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to worry about his safety any longer. At least until Feilong gifted him to whomever he had in mind. But even then, he'd only have to worry about one person anymore. 

If his own relief wasn't enough to keep him from regretting his choices just yet, Tao's was. Seeing the relaxed set of his friend's shoulders only high-lighted how worried he had been for him.

In the back of his mind, Aki knew that he should be worried about Feilong's plans with him but he was too exhausted to do that just yet. All he wanted was to enjoy what little relief he bought himself. He could think of the cost later.

***

A few stories above, Feilong welcomed a visitor into his cell. The way the tall, dark-haired man entered the room spoke of habitual visits and equal social standing.  
After sitting down on one of the chairs, the man's tiger-like eyes came to rest on the long-haired Triad leader.  
"I hear you have a proposition to make this boring charade a little more interesting, Feilong."

"I might have a feisty kitten looking for a caring home on my hands. It comes with pretty green eyes, blond hair and a decent right hook."  
The tall man chuckled "Decent? High praise indeed!"  
"It's good for a little stray", Feilong smirked.  
"A good fighter for a pet, but not enough to make it on his own then."  
The Triad leader nodded "I promised to gift him into safe hands."  
That prompted a dark laugh out of the other man "Safe hands? Oh, Feilong, how long do we know each other now?"  
The man's eyes narrowed "Tao would be terribly upset to see his little friend suffer at the hands of the rest of his cell block."  
"So you want me to take the boy out of your hair while pretending to do me a favor." A dangerous note entered the deep voice towards the end of that sentence.  
Feilong sighed "Don't be tiresome, Asami. I intended to gift you with a pretty pet to enjoy while dealing with this troublesome mess."  
The other man, Asami, relaxed into his chair. "Why don't you invite him over tomorrow and let me decide if I'm interested."  
"Alright", the Triad replied. "Go?"  
A nod followed and prompted Yoh to open the lacquered closet doors to fetch the board. 

***

Akihito didn't know how, but the whole block seemed to know that he wasn't to be touched. It was as if the news had spread through the night.  
No one even looked at him the wrong way. It was nearly disconcerting how big of a berth everyone was giving him.  
Like he was untouchable, not to be messed with in any way.  
And that was probably the case. Feilong was not to be messed with and as long as he hadn't been given away yet, the same applied to him. 

He suddenly understood what Tao had said about the constant fear of being cut loose again a whole lot better. 

After being this safe, the stark contrast of constant fear would be even more devastating.

After lunch, Yoh appeared at their door to collect Tao.  
Instead of whisking him away, the bodyguard told him to bring his toiletries and to go take a shower. How curious.  
"You too, Takaba."  
Akihito grabbed his towels, shampoo, and soap as fast as he could and followed Tao to their block's communal shower.  
They stripped and washed as fast as possible, while Yoh stood guard in the doorway. Two safe showers in just as many days, Aki couldn't believe his luck.  
Though the strangeness of the situation left him wondering about what Feilong was calling them for. Tao always showered in the mornings and had never showered twice in a day, since Aki had been transferred. 

After they finished their shower, they were led back to their cells to return their belongings. Then, they undertook the same strangely easy track into F block, like they had the day before. 

Only this time, they ascended another flight of stairs, to enter the corridor directly above Feilong's. An uneasy feeling spread through Aki's body as soon as he saw the Tao's steps falter at the beginning of the hallway.  
So Feilong had not called the both of them to bury them in chores, something else was afoot. Tao clearly knew where they were going and it scared him.

Yoh knocked on the second door to the right, which was immediately opened from the inside by a blond... giant. The guy looked like he could snap all three of them like twigs. Well, not Yoh, perhaps but he still dwarfed their tall bodyguard.  
He held the door open and closed it behind them after they entered. 

Aki found himself in another luxury cell. It looked identical to Feilong's, just mirrored, as it was located on the opposite side of the hallway.  
Feilong and an unknown man were lounging on chairs, while the blond giant stood guard at the door.  
The unknown man set Akihito on edge. He was tall and broad and something about the slumped, relaxed way he sat in his chair made it clear how fast this calmness could explode into action.  
This was a dangerous man. He froze when golden eyes fixed on him. A smirk spread on the man's sinful lips while the golden eyes looked him over. And they were sinful lips. Everything about the man looked sinful. He was broad, tall and attractive in an aggressive sort of way that made Aki feel like prey. This man was dangerous. 

"Akihito, be a good boy and say hello to Asami." He couldn't help but bristle at Feilong's voice. Good boy...  
Still, he hastened to obey. Angering Feilong was something he couldn't afford. 

He took a step forward and bowed deeply "It's a pleasure to meet you, Asami-sama."

Akihito straightened up again, noticing that Tao had bowed with him. Seeing their bows acknowledged with a nod was surprising. He hadn't expected any reaction at all.

"I'd like to have a closer look at him." Asami addressed Feilong, talking about him as if his opinion on the matter was entirely irrelevant. It probably was. Whatever Feilong wanted, would happen. At least until he was given away.  
Instead of talking over and about him, Feilong addressed Aki directly:  
"Asami is the man I intend to gift you to if he is interested. Do as he tells you."

Gift. He hadn't expected to be given away so fast. Apparently, he would be a gift for a powerful business partner. Had all of this been part of a plan? Did Feilong only offer his protection because he already had a man in mind who's favor he intended to buy? Akihito composed himself as much as he could and took a few steps until he nearly reached the man's chair.  
He flinched when the man's big hand came up behind his back and pushed him closer towards his body.  
He was now standing directly between two strong legs, the hand on the small of his back nearly spanned the whole width of it.

The second hand prompted a blush when it came to lay on Akihito's chest. The size difference between them was scary.  
Aki's blush of self-consciousness changed into one of anger, as soon as the hand on his back moved further down. He glowered at the man and received a devilish, amused smile in return.  
"He really does have some fight in him," Asami commented, with an amused glance at Feilong.  
Akihito could feel the rising tension in his body from trying not to lash out: the bastard had the gall to ruffle his hair like he was some kind of hilarious little pet.  
He balled his fists at his hips and glared at the man before hurriedly dropping his gaze when golden eyes narrowed at him. This guy was not to be trifled with that much was clear. He suppressed a shudder and kept his eyes to the other man's overall.

The big hand moved from his hair to his cheek and the one just above his butt pulled him even closer to the larger body.  
"You don't mind if I get a little taste before making my decision, Feilong, do you?"  
The affirmative answer was drowned out by the buzzing in Aki's ears. He was scared, he was pissed, he was embarrassed. Yet, he had nowhere to run.  
Then, his head was tipped down and surprisingly soft lips descended on his. His lower lip received a teasing lick, before the man's tongue wrestled its way into his mouth.

Akihito had been kissed before, though never like this. He felt completely overwhelmed and tried to turn his face away. A stinging bite sent searing heat down his spine, causing an embarrassed whimper.  
He was pulled closer, pushed down to sit on one of the man's legs and kissed again. This time, he didn't try to turn away. He understood the message: you don't deny me.  
Akihito had never been so thoroughly kissed in his life.  
There was nothing violent about how Asami kissed him, just confident certainty that Aki wouldn't dare to pull away again. And the bastard was right. He couldn't pull away because it would get him into more trouble than he would dare to take on. So he sat on the tall man's lap and allowed him to ravish his mouth. 

When Asami finally stop kissing him, he was sitting on the man's lap with a strong arm wrapped around his waist, pulling his side against a broad chest.  
Burning embarrassment colored his whole face and forced his eyes to the floor. 

"I'd be honored to receive such a delectable gift."  
The rumbling voice right next to his ear sent a new shudder through Akihito's body. His fate was sealed. 

"Then I'll be happy to gift you with a pretty pet."  
Pet. He was officially owned now.

***

Aki couldn't stop fidgeting.  
He had been told to go sit on the bed with Tao, while Feilong and Asami enjoyed a silent game of cards.  
Neither man acknowledged them and it was driving him up the wall.  
His lips were still tingling and he couldn't get the taste of the other man's tongue out of his mouth. He had never thought about how much of a taste another person could have or how sensitive his taste buds were, until now. 

A scraping sound pulled his attention away from his distressing thoughts. Feilong had pushed his chair back and was in the process of standing up.  
"I enjoyed our game, Asami, but I will have to postpone the re-match. I have business to take care of."

The muscles in Akihito's back cramped up when Asami stood as well.  
"I'm sure I'll be entertained enough in your absence."  
The two men shared a short not-quite-smile before the Triad leader started towards the door "Tao, we're leaving."

As always, Tao jumped from the bed as if he had been stung. His friend rushed after the elegant Chinese man, Yoh hot on his heels and before Aki could even try to get up as well, the blond giant closed the door behind them. 

He was trapped with to giants and nowhere to run. 

"Suoh, take a break in your room. I won't need you for a while."  
One giant. 

Shit.

The sinking feeling in Akihito's stomach grew into a cramp.  
Better one man than all of them, right? 

Asami didn't move towards him. He only turned his chair in his direction but remained seated. Still, Aki couldn't help but pull his legs even closer to his stomach.  
He couldn't run, he couldn't fight... all he could do was hope that the man wouldn't be too brutal to him. 

"Akihito," he jumped at the calm voice. "Breath."  
Anxious to comply, he took a big gulp of air. "Good, now take ten deep breaths. Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Slowly."

After the six first deep breaths, some of his dizziness died down. Had he been hyperventilating?  
"Very good, now look at me." That was a lot more difficult. 

Aki fought his cramped muscles to raise his head. 

"Now, go make us a pot of tea and then we will have a little talk."

***

It took him an embarrassing amount of time to walk the few meters to the kitchenette. Most of his muscles had cramped up and refused to let go when he tried to get them to move.  
Much to his surprise, Asami had been extremely patient with him.  
The man had remained in his chair, watching him without any sign of annoyance, even though it took him more than a minute to shake loose the cramps in his legs. 

Once he made it to the kitchenette, some of his anxiety dissipated. Just the anticipation of smelling high-quality tea leaves was enough to send a small thrill of pleasure through him.  
Boiling water and adding the leaves were routine tasks that took his focus away from the other man in the cell. He picked two cups from the shelf above the sink and took a deep breath to steady himself again. 

He hated feeling powerless. His natural instinct was to fight until the end but... he couldn't. Not here, not with this man; not if he wanted to survive. 

Determined, he grabbed the cups and the teapot and marched over to the table. After he poured a cup for Asami, he hesitated. 'Make a pot of tea for us'- he chanced a nervous look at the giant.  
"Pour one for yourself and sit down on one of the chairs."

Asami waited silently until he sat down and pulled the cup of tea to his chest. 

"Now, we will discuss this arrangement. And I expect you to participate, Akihito."  
He managed a nod. 

With a nervous thrill, Aki watched Asami take the first sip of his tea. The man took his time to taste it, before swallowing.  
"Suoh will be very pleased to hear that he is permanently excused from tea-making duties."  
Relief coursed through his veins, flushing out some of his panics. No matter how scared he was, he could still make a decent cup of tea. 

"According to Feilong's pet, you have never been protected by anyone before. Is that correct?"  
"Yes," he had always been able to hold his own in the training school. There had never been a need for anyone to take care of him. 

"But you are aware of what being protected by someone entails." 

A statement, not a question. "Yes, Tao told me about his... deal... with Feilong-sama."  
A nod and a pointed pause indicated that he was supposed to go into more detail. "Tao does whatever Feilong-sama tells him to do. He cleans his cell, does his laundry, brushes his hair"- Akihito could feel the embarrassment coloring his face but soldiered on. "Sucks him off and would do absolutely anything he is told."

"Very good. And what does he get in return?" The neutral tone of the deep voice helped him to push past his nervousness. 

"He is safe from the other prisoners. And he gets rewards, sometimes?"  
He startled at the man's chuckle "I would hope so. The poor kid nearly fell off the bed when he called him."

Aki took a sip of his tea and bit his lip. He was supposed to be an active participant in this discussion.  
"Feilong-sama said that you like to 'domesticate' your 'brash' pets." Akihito resolutely kept his eyes on the table but managed to keep going. "I'm... I'm used to fighting back but- I know I can't do that with you. I need to get out of here alive. I need to stay alive for two years, so I can"- He cut himself off.  
"I don't know what he told you, but I won't give you a fight. I can't. So... if you like beating your pets or something, you can do that, just... just don't do anything that kills me before I get out of here. Please."  
He was bowing down as deeply as he could while still remaining on his chair. 

Silence. 

"Akihito, look at me."  
Aki's head jerked up, wide, fearful eyes pinned on the man's face immediately.  
"Good boy," the near gentleness in Asami's voice was a punch in the gut. Everything in the way the man carried himself told him to be afraid, yet the way he had treated him so far indicated the opposite. Akihito was so confused. 

"Feilong is right, I like to domesticate my pets. I like it when they are feisty and try to fight me. But I'm not ignorant of the situation you are in, kitten."

Asami took another sip of tea. "Outside of prison, I like to play games. If I see a cheeky, pretty boy like you, I can't help but want to torture them."

Tortue! Akihito's heart was about to beat out of his chest. He didn't even want to think about what kind of torture this man could inflict on someone. 

"But Feilong conveniently forgot that I like my playthings willing and able to fight back. Just as much as he enjoys being in complete control of others and fawned over." Immediately, images of Tao rushing to brush the man's long hair rushed through his mind. Complete control and utter devotion. 

"I won't do anything to you that will even warrant a visit to the hospital wing. I like to inflict torture on my partners, that is true, but only torture of the best kind." 

"Of the best kind?" Aki echoed dubiously.  
The salacious smirk on the man's lips made some color appear on his cheeks despite the palor of fear. "Oh yes, kitten. The kind of torture that makes them come and come until they cry pretty tears for me."

"W... Will you do that to me?"  
The smirk softened minutely "In a few weeks, perhaps. I'm not cruel enough to push you that hard right away."  
Aki couldn't breath "But you will."

"Breath." Aki did.  
This was the most exhausting, terrifying conversation he ever had. 

"I don't intend to force a scared virgin to my bed who won't be able to ever look at himself in the mirror again after I'm done with him." The apparent disgust in Asami's voice encouraged him to look at him again. 

"I will keep you until you leave Fuchu, kitten. It's your job to obey me, that's all you have to worry about from now on. I won't break you. You are my pet and I take care of my things. If you ever feel like you can't take it anymore, tell me."

Tell me? Was this man serious?

"I can't just tell you to stop doing something!"  
"No, you can't. And I won't listen to you if you try it." Before Akihito could open his mouth again, Asami continued. "I don't listen to brats who try to order me around. But if you tell me as politely as you can that something is too much for you, I will respect your wishes as much as I can."  
As much as he could- so he wouldn't necessarily. 

"If I would have asked you politely to stop kissing me earlier, would you have stopped?"

A smile flickered across the handsome face "How polite, Akihito?"  
Of course, he would ask. 

He nervously licked his lips. Asami had bitten him when he had tried to turn away.  
"Would you please not kiss me, Asami-sama?" It didn't take much to make his voice sound demure. 

"Why don't you come over here and try that again, kitten?"  
Oh, Gods. Hesitantly, Aki stood and took a few steps around the table. He stopped a few steps away from the man.  
"Closer, Akihito." The man held a hand out to him, which he shakily took. A sharp pull had him flush against a broad chest.  
"Now," a silky voice murmured into his ear while Asami's free hand took hold of his hair to push him closer until their faces were millimeters apart. "Try again, Akihito."

Aki was too stunned to say anything right away. His left hand was still engulfed in Asami's warm grip and the reassuring squeeze it was given left him entirely confused.  
Yet, he had no time to come to his senses. Warm lips gently pressed against his in dry, chaste pecks until the man's tongue finally prodded his lower lip.  
"Ah"- And it dipped inside. The warm tongue curled around his and he had no chance to attempt words until Asami took mercy on him and pulled back again.  
"Asa...mi-sa...ma?" Gentle pecks interrupted him but Akihito was intent on testing if his owner would actually stick to his word.  
Another peck followed, then the man finally pulled back. "Yes, kitten?"

The mix of amusement and hunger he saw in the golden eyes would have made his hackles rise in another life but know it just set him on edge. "W.. Would you please not kiss me, Asami-sama? Please?" 

The hand in his hair gently scratched his scalp while Asami seemed to contemplate his request. "Why don't you want kisses, Akihito?"

Akihito was about to die of embarrassment. "Because"- Why?  
"It's embarrassing. And I don't know you. And I can't concentrate if I have to worry about being kissed." Oh Gods, why did he have to ask about a way out of things?

"How about this, kitten. I won't kiss you for the rest of our discussion. But I expect a kiss goodbye when I send you back to your cell for the night." 

Not a no, not a yes. He won himself time by asking, nothing more. 

"Okay." Akihito couldn't believe he was agreeing to this. "No kissing until I go back to my cell?"  
"No kisses until you say goodbye, pet." 

Hmm... "If I have something I'm really scared of, will you still only change when I have to do it? Or would you allow to not do some things, if I ask you?" 

"Do you have something specific in mind, Akihito?"  
"No, I just... I might hate some things you want."  
"I won't always respect that you don't like something, pet. You can tell me and I will keep it in mind but I won't always cater to your wishes."  
Of course, he wouldn't. Akihito didn't know whether to laugh or cry: his owner turned out to be nothing like and exactly what he had expected.  
His hair was released, while the hand changed position to point face up towards Asami's by his chin. "I will always listen if you are truly scared, kitten. I won't always abandon the idea but I will find a way to make it manageable for you."  
He managed to reply with a shaky nod. 

"Let's drink some more tea and discuss the exact rules of our agreement. Alright?" Aki braved another nod and slumped down in the closest chair.  
His cup was pulled over for him and filled up. 


	4. New territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone :D
> 
> I haven't been writing regularly for a few years, so getting back into the habit has been a bit of a challenge for me.  
> Your warm welcome and comments really help me to keep my motivation going. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this new chapter :)
> 
> All the love,  
> Sunny

For a few minutes, they both enjoyed their tea.  
The thought of having tea like this regularly was nearly worth to put up with the kissing in Akihito's book. 

"You should already be aware of most of the rules."  
Asami set down his cup and fixed his golden eyes on him. "I expect obedience and honesty. Don't ever try to go behind my back." The cold, deadly tone that entered the deep voice sent chills down Akihito's spine.  
He had been in the system long enough to know that obedience would be a given.  
No one protected anyone who'd disrespect them and made them look weak in front of others. If he wanted Asami to keep him, he could never make him look bad in public. Or defy him enough behind closed doors to question the use of putting up with him. 

"I have to keep you out of trouble and occupied. So you will clean and do my laundry."  
Maid duties, of course. He'd seen older kids in training school push their chores on the younger ones when the guards weren't looking, it was a power thing. At least he'd have some cleaning to do too, while Tao was away. 

"Also, I expect you to apply to the warden for permission to try and take courses for your high-school diploma. And when you get in, you will study as hard as you can. I expect you to get your diploma before you leave here."  
Akihito could feel his eyes widen in surprise "You want me to finish high-school?" What the hell?  
"You are keen to get out of here. Being out is no use if you have nothing to fall back on."  
True. But "Why do you care?"  
"Because I take care of my things." Things...  
"I'm not a thing." Aki wished he could muster some real fire to put behind his reply. Yet, it wasn't more than a meek objection.  
Golden eyes softened ever so slightly "No. But you are my pet. And you need to get used to being treated like it."

Aki's stomach churned a little at that word. Tao had already told him that he wouldn't be considered a man anymore.  
A man was someone who could take care of their own business, a pet was taken care of. If you were taken care of, you belonged to someone. That safety came at the expense of autonomy and respect, as it did in every prison. At least with "pet", he could pretend over time that it wasn't an insult. 

"That also means you will let me play with you if I want to."  
Oh, Gods. "Play", like it was all a game. All he could hope for was Asami would keep his word and take it slow. 

The golden eyes still lay heavily on him. "Just do what I tell you, kitten, you'll be fine."  
Like it was easy. He'd just have to shove his dignity and self-respect into a closet for two years and he'd be fine.  
That's the least Kou's parents deserved, though. His throat constricted, as the guilt choked him up again.  
Asami would make sure he could try to make his amends, so he should be thankful for all the patience the man brought to the plate.  
"Good. Now, be a good boy and do the dishes. Then I'll let you go for tonight." 

Aki scrubbed the teapot and cups like a man possessed and then proceeded to scrub the counters of the kitchenette. He was tempted to try and clean the shelf too but he wasn't convinced that he could get away with it.  
Asami hadn't made any threats about what he would do if Aki tried to defy him but something told him that he didn't need to. If this man ever chose to show him violence, there would be little he'd be able to do about it.

"It's half an hour to shut-time."

Aki reflexively dropped his sponge.

Time to face the music... Reluctantly, he turned away from the kitchen.

Aki's heart was about to pound out of his chest: time to kiss his owner. 

The muscles in his back and legs were stiff again, as he made his way over to the tall man, still folded up in his chair. Some time while he was scrubbing the counters, Asami had turned his chair towards him.  
When he gave no sign of standing up, Aki took the last few steps and stood between the man's spread legs.  
He could do this. 

Akihito's eyes darted across the handsome face for a moment, no expression. Asami gave nothing away.  
He bowed down enough to reach the man's lips, took a fortifying breath and pressed a shaky kiss to his lips.  
A quick glance at the other's eyes revealed an amused twinkle. So, he wasn't totally failing?

He pressed another, slightly more lingering kiss to the pliant mouth and pulled away. Okay, that was done.  
Still, he was shaky from nerves. He really needed his sleep after this day.

Quickly, he side-stepped the long legs and made his way over to the door.  
Just when he was about to slide the door open, he felt a chill go down his spine.

"You didn't think you'd get away this easily, did you, kitten?" The sudden warmth against his back made him freeze, while the purring voice next to his ear sent goosebumps down his back.  
God, Asami hadn't made any sound! Was this guy an assassin or something? A big hand caressed the length of his back and came to lay on his waist. "Let's try this again. Turn around and give me a proper kiss."  
Beet red, Aki did as he was told.  
As soon as he faced the man, he was boxed in between the wall, strong arms, and a large body. Still, Asami made no move to kiss him.  
"You know what to do, pet.

Apparently, a few pecks weren't acceptable.

As far as chastizing went, not letting him get away and forcing "proper" behavior was pretty gentle.

Akihito steeled himself and pushed up to his toes, to get as close to the man's height as he could.  
He allowed himself a nervous breath, then proceeded to press his lips against Asami's. To his credit, the giant remained motionless and patient. At least, he let him start slow. A weird kind of gratefulness bubbled up in Akihito's chest: this could all be so much worse. 

After a few chaste pecks, he felt safe enough to copy one of his owner's earlier moves and let his tongue swipe forward for a careful lick. Feeling Asami's mouth open under his hesitant ministrations sent a bolt of nerves down his spine. He could do this.  
When he dared to repeat this motion, the other's tongue came forward as well. He managed to suppress his startled response and shyly dared to enter Asami's mouth.  
Immediately, he was welcomed with delicious movements against his tongue and rewarded with a caress to his cheek.  
When the kiss went on without escalating any further, he started to relax.  
Asami's hand remained on his cheek, while the other didn't touch him at all. He was allowed to direct their kiss without pressure for more. 

To touch and to be touched without the threat of violence or ulterior motives was scarce behind bars. Akihito had heard of being touch starved before, still, he had never considered himself to be affected by it.  
Now, kissing the man who promised to keep him safe, he felt the relief of being touched for the first time in years.  
It was the weirdest thing. He didn't even feel embarrassed anymore, he just...felt. 

He only noticed that he was lazily slumped back against the door when Asami pulled back, the ghost of a smile on his lips. The hand on his cheek moved into his hair and ruffled it. "Good boy, Akihito."  
And just like that, the embarrassment rose up again. 

His shoulders rose to his ears and his muscles started to lock up again. "Don't make this harder on yourself. Do what we agreed on and you'll be out when your time is done."

Right, he had to keep his eyes on the prize.  
"Now, go straight to your cell and get some sleep."  
Akihito didn't need to be told twice, he carefully side-stepped the man and exited the luxury cell. 

***

"How did things go?"  
Tao had waited until lights-out to talk to him. And Aki was thankful, no chance of anyone seeing his face during that conversation.

"I kissed him before I left."  
Silence.

"I offered to suck Feilong-sama off before I left his cell for the first time."  
Well, no need for embarrassment here then.  
"Why?"  
"Because he told me he'd protect me and I needed his help so badly. You don't know what it was like before he came here."  
The emotional detachment during that last sentence gave Akihito chills.

"I relaxed while I kissed him. I felt safe"- he cut himself off.  
Safe! He was someone's prison bitch and felt safe for the first time in years, the humiliation was scorching. 

"Of course, you did. Asami-sama is not a total asshole or he'd never have given you to him." Given, like an object. Well, a pet.  
"I just- I'm so confused. I want to hate him for knowing what he will do to me, but I'm just... I might actually survive my two years."

"We both might."  
That made Aki perk up "You have a release date?" Tao had never told anyone what he was in for or how long he was sentenced to be in prison for.  
It took his friend a moment to answer and when he did, his voice was just above a whisper. "Feilong-sama paid a lawyer to make sure I get out when I'm 21."

Akihito's heart was about to beat out of his chest, Feilong really did that?  
"How long is he in for?"

Tao hesitated before answering "He once said that he can get out of here whenever he likes. But he hasn't mentioned it again and I just... don't want to ask things he doesn't want to tell me."  
Hm, interesting. His curiosity peaked at the idea of solving the mystery of Feilong's prison sentence.  
"Do you know what he did?"

"No." The distress in Tao's voice slowly became more noticeable, his friend obviously didn't want to think about the topic. "Sometimes, I think he might be an assassin. The way he moves sometimes and watches his surroundings makes it look like it but... It doesn't matter, Aki."

It really didn't, though, no matter how curious Akihito was.  
They should both be happy to be in good hands, and not spend time worrying about what these hands might have done in the past. 

"How about Yoh?"  
The answer consisted of a snort and a stifled giggle. He had never heard Tao giggle before!  
"Yoh attacked some kind of shady businessman after Feilong-sama was jailed. He's his bodyguard and didn't want to let him go to prison by himself. Feilong-sama is still pissed at him!" 

"Aki felt a giggle of his own bubble up in his chest. Dignified Feilong was miffed because his bodyguard didn't believe he could take care of himself in prison! What?

It made him wonder about Asami. Neither Feilong nor Asami seemed like men who couldn't afford to throw money at a problem until it went away. How had they ended up in prison?  
Had they made some kind of deal that allowed them to stay in a luxury cell? Were they some kind of yakuza informants?

Akihito's lips tingled while thinking about Asami. The man had been surprisingly gentle, despite his claims to enjoy making his... partners... cry.  
He turned and huddled against the wall, to hide away from the images that rose up in his mind. He still had a few weeks, if his owner kept his word.

***

The next day started uneventful for Akihito but got exciting quick, when Asami's blond giant appeared to bring him to Asami's cell.  
For about two hours, he found himself cleaning the small cell from top to bottom. He scrubbed the shower stall, bathroom sink, toilet and tiled floor until his hands started to hurt.  
Then, he dusted all surfaces he could find, made the bed and started scrubbing the floor on his knees.

That's how Asami found him once he returned.  
At first, Akihito didn't notice the man in the doorway, he just kept scrubbing. When the door slid shut, he froze.  
"You've been cleaning since Suoh fetched you?"  
"Yes." He remained unmoving, unsure what the man expected of him.  
Then, suddenly, a warm hand was on his hair and scratched his scalp. "Good work, kitten. Go make us some tea."

Low-level pleasure bubbled up in Akihito's stomach at the praise. From the way Asami had phrased his order, he'd be allowed to have some tea as well. 

With his rags put aside and tea made, he turned to the table to serve it, only to notice that Asami was sitting on the bed instead. Immediately, the pleasure dissipated, followed by dread. 

"Bring a chair with you." Thank the Gods.  
His elation went as quick as it came when he was directed to put the cups and teapot on the chair. "Now come sit on my lap and give me a kiss hello, pet."  
Akihito's stomach churned but the quickly suppressed his instinct to balk at the order. He nervously came to stand between the man's spread legs, hesitating, wondering where exactly he was supposed to sit down.  
The decision was made for him a second later when he was sat down on the left leg and pulled close to the tall body.  
The man's right hand came up and tipped his face up until he looked into terribly amused golden eyes.  
The amusement only got worse, when Aki couldn't hide the flash of disgruntled defiance in his eyes.  
He would never defy Asami outright but he couldn't help his natural instincts. Acting on impulse, he straightened up and started kissing him. If Asami wanted a damn kiss, he'd get it anyway. Best to get it over with straight away and wipe that amused expression off his face. 

At first, the kiss started out like all the others had. Asami participated but he didn't push him in any way. Feeling triumphant, Akihito tried to pull back, only to be thwarted by a grip in his hair.  
He opened his mouth, hissing, and was ravished. Asami kissed him with nearly bruising force, leaving him breathless until suddenly changing to slow, gentle kisses. Akihito was plied with gentle, sucking kisses until he gave up his attempts at escape.  
Then, the man's free hand started roaming his back. The first time it started massaging his thigh, he jumped, eyes flying open. He was looking into pleasure blown, half-lidded eyes.  
"Asa-mi--sama?" His owner pulled away from his mouth but kept kneading his thigh and the back of his neck.  
The gaze of those golden eyes was searing.  
"Please"- he went cherry red; the hand on his leg had just grazed his groin. "Please stop touching me?"  
A predatory smile appeared on Asami's face "What did I tell you about cheeky, pretty boys, Akihito?"

He never got a chance to answer. Words were pressed against his ear in a deep purr before he could even think of a reply.  
"It makes me want to torture them, seeing how weak they are and how hard they try to pretend." Asami gave his ear a sharp nip "Seeing you try to defy me makes me want to play, kitten. Makes me want to get you hard, just hear your humiliated pleading." To Aki's immense mortification, his cock twitched in his overalls. Seeing himself squirm in embarrassment in front of a gloating Asami was way too easy to imagine. 

A low chuckle puffed against his ear. "I saw that, pet."  
Akihito couldn't help the whine in his voice "Please, Asami-sama, please stop it!"  
"Stop what, Akihito?" The hand on his thigh started massaging him again. "Stop enjoying your thighs or stop telling you what I'm going to do to you?"  
"Stop touching me, please?"

"Why?"

Ugh.

"It's embarrassing. It's humiliating and it's... scary." Well, scary hadn't been the word he had been looking for but if he was lucky, it might work for him.  
Both of Asami's hands came to lay at his waist. Yes!  
"You tried to be defiant with me and I showed you the consequences. There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Akihito."

Yeah... Asami's overall hadn't been the one with a visible twitch...

"Don't look so disgruntled, pet. You'll tempt me again."  
The amusement in the purring voice was even visible in his eyes. At least he was amusing his owner...  
This was scary. If even the most subtle defiance caused things to escalate, he'd have to learn to completely suppress his body language. 

A short kiss was pressed to his forehead and he was pulled gently against Asami's body. "What are you worrying about, kitten? Tell me."  
God, if there was one thing Akihito was weak too, it was the gentle, soothing purr this man could put into his voice.  
"I can't help but...bristle... sometimes. And if that makes you so...grabby, then how can you say that you won't rape me anyway?"

"Look at me, kitten."  
He was rewarded with a squeeze to his waist when he complied. "Seeing you squirm and fight humiliation is delicious. I want to see you overwhelmed by pleasure, not knowing how to cope. I want you to crave my touch, and dread it because it leaves you helpless. Scaring you won't give me that."  
Akihito was blushing heavily. "I'm not gay."  
"No," the sting of hearing the chuckle was soothed by a few gentle scratches on his scalp. "You are my pet."  
Aki couldn't help but shudder when sharp teeth tugged at his earlobe "And I'm going to find out how to make you purr."

The teacup was pressed against his lips and he reflexively took a sip.   
He was in so much trouble.


	5. Marking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi Hi :D  
> Hope you're all doing well!  
> Sorry for any mistakes in this one, it was a bout of stress-writing <.<  
> Summary?  
> Aki gets more acquainted with his rules :D
> 
> Enjoy <3

Akihito couldn't believe he was actually applying for acceptance into the high-school programme. He had had the chance to finish school in training school but had always refused to. Kou would never get the chance to finish school, why would he deserve something he had taken away from his friend?  
Now he didn't have a choice though. Asami would find out if he didn't apply and he didn't want to risk going against the rules.  
The man was surprisingly forgiving about a little defiance but no self-respecting convict would accept any real rule-breaking.

For that reason, Thursday found Akihito asking a guard about the application process and later that day talking to a counselor about the programme. The process was surprisingly easy, he filled in an application form and was told to wait two weeks to be either approved or denied. What result he was hoping for, he couldn't say. On one hand, his guilt and self-loathing were pretty good at convincing him that he didn't deserve to finish high-school. On the other hand, Asami was right. He would have an exceedingly hard time on the job market without his high-school diploma. Being a convict would limit his options enough as it was. 

Still, doing something for himself, that wasn't directly linked to surviving his prison time was hard for him. He clung to the knowledge that an education would make being an actual help to Kou's parents a lot more likely like a lifeline. Plus, Asami wanted him to do this. Pleasing Asami was important enough to jump over his shadow and go through with the application process. 

What he hadn't expected though, was any reward for his obedience coming his way.  
It came in the form or Suoh dropping a family pack of Pocky on his bed on Thursday night and walking off without comment.  
The sticky note he found during his careful examination of the box simply read "Good boy."

That night, he ate himself in a sugar coma with Tao, trying to push away the thoughts about his next encounter with Asami.  
Would the man expect him to show his gratitude in some way?  
And how had he found out about his application so quickly?

***

One absolute advantage of being under Asami's and not Feilong's protection was how much less time he had to spend with his owner in comparison to Tao.  
Asami had been looking out for him for almost 10 days now, and he had only seen the man once since that first night.  
Also, during that one encounter, he had only been asked to make tea, clean, do laundry and then leave like a good boy before Asami's business partner came over to talk.  
He hadn't gotten away without a goodbye kiss though. 

Kissing Asami was a dangerous business. As always, Aki had been allowed to start slow but had quickly found himself overwhelmed by the man. Asami had held him in place by his hair until his lips were tingling, bitten and deliciously sore. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, that man could kiss!

In total, he had seen Suoh more often than Asami, as the man dropped by his cell every other day to enlist him for cleaning duties. Still, the giant had hardly spoken a word with him, unless he was giving specifications on the chores he was supposed to do. 

He was hardly unsettled anymore when the blonde appeared in his door frame or on the yard to escort him to Asami's cell, so he wasn't very surprised when the man appeared just after lunch.  
"Asami-sama requests your presence."

A jolt went through his body - the bastard would actually have time for him today?  
He wasn't usually called this early in the day, Asami had always waited until the afternoon to send Suoh after him, while Tao left directly after lunch. His friend had already been taken away by Yoh about half an hour ago.

Of course, he complied and followed behind Suoh.  
They came to a stop before Feilong's cell. Well, that was unexpected.

***

The scene that welcomed him upon entering the cell made him feel anxious. Feilong, Asami and an unknown man sat around the table, playing a game of cards.  
Tao and an unknown boy sat tersely on the bed, looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. 

He froze in the doorway, unsure how to behave. Golden eyes met his and Asami's deep voice broke the spell "Meet Koishi-san, Akihito."  
Aki blinked once and bowed deeply to the stranger at the table. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Koishi-sama."  
His owner's lips moved into a slight smirk, then the man crooked a finger at him. "Don't be shy. Come here and give me a proper greeting."

A proper greeting? Heat shot to Akihito's face. The bastard would make him kiss him in front of all these people, huh?  
He all but rushed over to Asami, trying to ignore the other men in the room. There was nothing he could do about this, so it was best to get it over with.  
He stepped as close to his owner as he could and pressed a few chaste kisses to his lips. His face burned with humiliation when a hand grabbed his neck and kept him in place while his mouth was briefly ravished. Asami released him faster than usual but doing this publically was still a whole other degree of embarrassment.

"Go take a seat with Tao and Yayoi, kitten."

Akihito nodded, gave a slight bow to the general direction of the table and stalked over to the bed. Perfect.  
After he took a seat next to Tao, silence spread over the room. An uncomfortable one for the boys on the bed, a comfortable one for the men at the table.  
Were they seriously supposed to sit on the bed like ornaments and watch these guys play cards?

"Reji has been awfully curious these last few days." The pointedly casual tone in Koishi's voice set Aki on edge.  
Asami made a non-committal sound, while Feilong paused before laying down his card. "He had his people hang around while the mattresses were delivered."  
"Indeed." The cool, detached tone of Asami's voice was new to Akihito.  
Mattresses?

"Tao, go make tea." Feilong apparently didn't consider Koishi's observation worth commenting on.  
As always, Tao jolted up from the bed and nearly ran over to the kitchenette to do his owner's bidding. 

"We should be careful about him." Koishi's voice suddenly had an edge to it that made Yayoi tense up next to him. "I don't like him getting too close."  
"He has his people hanging around because he is suspicious, not because he has anything of substance. Swatting at flies only agitates them, just let him tire himself out." The cool undertone in Feilong's voice gave Aki chills. Yayoi and Aki both about jumped out of their skin when Tao dropped the lid of the tea tin into the sink.  
The tense set of his friend's shoulders wasn't a good sign. Tao knew Feilong a lot better than Akihito and even he had been able to notice the Baishe leader's distaste for Koishi.  
The water started boiling in the kettle and was poured into the teapot by a rather shaky Tao.  
The boy served the tea, starting with Asami, moving to Koishi and finally to Feilong. Before he could leave the table again, the Chinese man pulled him to his lap, put an arm around his waist and kept him there.  
"Good boy." If the praise surprised Akihito, the ruffle through Tao's hair was the cherry on top. 

"I'm with Feilong." Akihito's eyes flickered over to Asami, who took a short sip of his tea. "If the flies truly become a nuisance, we will swat them."

The muscle in Koishi's jaw started to tick. "Don't forget that I let you in on my business. Without me, you would be nowhere near as well-off as you are."  
Yayoi looked like he desperately wanted to curl up into a ball and hide.  
"Debatable." Oh yes, Feilong didn't like this guy at all. The only amusing part of this exchange was Tao holding onto Feilong like a lifeline, while the man gave him a reassuring pat on his back. 

"And you wouldn't be anywhere close to holding your position without our support." Evidently, Asami wasn't happy either. 

"I have been able to hold my position for years."  
"Before we came here." Feilong gracefully flicked his hair out of his face.  
"I could put you out of business in no time!"  
Asami's chuckle and the answering smirk from Feilong drove the man out of his chair.  
"Don't push me! I want Reji taken care of! That's final!"  
And with that, he stormed out of the door. Poor Yayoi had a hard time getting out of the room fast enough, while still bowing politely to Asami and Feilong.  
Aki really didn't envy the boy his owner. 

For a moment, the two men at the table just looked at each other before respectively taking a sip of their tea. Then, Asami collected all the cards on the table and started shuffling.  
"Come here, Akihito. You're in."

Tao was pushed into the chair closest to Feilong, while his owner pushed the other free chair in his direction.  
The next hour was spent playing varying card games. For the first time in a few months, Aki really enjoyed himself. He even forgot proper decorum a few times during particularly heated moments of the game and only noticed much later that he hadn't been reprimanded at all.  
If anything, he was sneakily used as an example for Tao who shyly started to grow bolder as the games went on. 

It was weird to see Feilong and Tao interact so freely.  
So far, he had only seen his friend as an obedient puppet for an owner who enjoyed being waited on hand and foot. During the game, though, a rather caring side of the man came to light. Tao was actively praised for speaking up and insisting on his turns when someone tried to sneak anything past him. 

He also learned more about his own owner. Asami was pretty quiet but had a dark sense of humor, that actually made Aki laugh a few times. And he definitely shouldn't ever play poker with the man if anything was actually at stake. He had one hell of a poker face. 

They took a few breaks from playing to have more tea. It was during one of their tea breaks, that Asami turned to Feilong. "I'll take my leave after the next game."

Feilong gave a nod. "Of course." For the last two rounds, Tao had just been watching them play, content to sip tea and comment on their cards. "Why don't you take a shower, while we finish the last game, pet?"  
A small smile flew over his friend's lips and he stood up almost immediately. "Do you want me to take my time or hurry?"  
"Take your time, Tao. You'll stay until closing time." 

Akihito was sure that he was missing the point of this conversation. The slight smirk on Asami's lips made him suspicious that it was somehow something perverted but he couldn't be sure.  
Also... he'd love to use Asami's shower! A private shower, with enough room to move and no one watching him, was heaven on earth!

With a quick bow to Asami and Feilong, Tao was off to the bathroom and left them to enjoy their last round. 

***

Fifteen minutes later, Aki trudged behind Asami towards the man's cell. They entered and he was left to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room.  
As the silence spread on, Aki became antsier and antsier.  
"Would you let me use your shower?" Oh, great. 

That prompted Asami to walk over to him and put a hand on the small of his back. "You trust me enough to be naked in my cell? I feel honored."  
Predictably, Aki bristled at the teasing tone in the deep voice. He stiffened as soon as he realized that he hadn't hidden his reaction well enough. The warm hand on his back pulled him against Asami's warm body.  
"Asking to get naked in my cell and tempting me to play with you. Aren't you courageous today, kitten?"  
He couldn't help but shudder when the man bypassed his mouth and went straight to kissing and biting his neck.  
"Did you think I'd let you block the door? Let you put your delicious little body under my shower, let you use my towels without getting anything out of it?" The hand on his back moved down until it grabbed his ass without hesitation. The other went into his hair to pull his head to the side, so Asami could talk directly into his ear. 

"If you want to shower here, you will earn it, pet."  
Aki's heart was beating out of his chest. His cock was again twitching in his pants, Asami was way too good at this.  
"Wh... What would I have to do?"  
The purr near his ear came as a surprise "Good boy." 

To his surprise, Asami actually pulled back. Then he held out his hand to him and pulled him over to the bed when he grabbed it.  
"WAIT!" Before he could protest more, he landed on the man's lap and received a peck on his forehead.  
"Hush. I only want you to listen to me."  
Thanks to his previous experiences with Asami touching him, he managed to not freak out, when his waist was given a squeeze.  
"You want to earn yourself a shower, Akihito?"  
The return of teasing lilt to the dark voice was actually soothing now. Teasing was safe. Teasing was normal. And "normal" Asami didn't push him too far.  
Still, he was slightly intimidated. Consequently, he just nodded and leaned against Asami's chest.  
"You are mine but I haven't seen your pretty body yet. I want that."

Aki's stomach swooped "You want me to strip?"  
An indulgent chuckle answered him and another kiss was pressed against his scalp. "You've been a very good boy today, so I'd let you off easy. Just your chest, pet. Button down your overall to your navel and let me play with you for a bit."

Oh, Gods.  
"Play?" He hated how small his voice sounded. The worst part was how tempted he was. He started to grow comfortable with his owner. And he would have to do this sooner than later. Still... this was scary and humiliating.

"Poor little kitten." Asami's hand started a relaxing up and down motion on his back. "I'm not going to make it hard for you, pet. Only some kissing, feeling your skin under my hands."  
A gentle bite to his earlobe sent more heat down Aki's spine. Oh, Gods, he was half-way to being hard.  
"Play with your nipples for a while. Just to see how sensitive they are and how you react, when I hurt them a bit."  
While talking about his nipples, Asami moved his hand from his back to his chest. The hand lay on his sternum, the fingers nearly reaching the nipples he was talking about.  
Aki looked up into golden eyes uncertainly. "Hurt them? How?"  
Golden eyes were blown and dark and he felt like prey again. Yet, he wasn't as scared as he probably should be.  
One finger brushed a nipple through his overall, while the predatory eyes remained fixed on his face. It brushed over it again. This was deliberate. 

"First, I'd stroke them, gently. Relax all those bunched up muscles, then I'd give them a pinch to start. Not hard, not at first. But Akihito"- Asami stopped to give his neck another bite that he soothed with kisses. "I'd pinch them, and bite them, and suck them until you'll squirm all over my lap because you don't know how to keep it in anymore. They'd still be puffy and sore tomorrow, you'd feel them under your overall all day, pet."  
Aki didn't know what to do. These eyes and that voice were so compelling, so tempting. And the thought of warm water soothing his skin without anyone hurrying him along was so, so enticing.  
But...

"Don't be scared. I will make sure you enjoy yourself."

Enjoy himself? He had a hard time believing he could really let go enough to enjoy himself but he wanted to try.  
He would be bending over for this man in a few weeks, better get used to it now...

"Okay."  
"Kitten?"

"Okay, I'll do it. But don't... don't push it, okay?"  
Asami raised an imperious eyebrow at that.  
"Don't, please?"  
That prompted a smile "Better." 

Aki took a deep breath, then raised his trembling fingers to unbutton his overall to his waist. It was not quite at his navel yet, though.  
"Is this enough?"  
"That's fine, pet. Put your hands around my neck and relax."  
He did as he was told and kept his eyes on his owners. 

"Good boy." Asami moved forward to kiss him chastely on the lips a few times. Then he lowered his eyes to Aki's chest, allowed himself one long, indulgent swoop up and down his exposed skin.  
"Delicious, too." Delicious like he was something to be devoured. 

It didn't take him long to find out just how true that was. Asami bit and fought his way into his mouth, just to continue overwhelming him the moment he got in. And it was bliss.  
Pure, guilty bliss.  
A warm tongue was wrestling him into submission and it was doing it expertly. He even missed the hands stroking up and down his body. 

"Want to see how sensitive these nipples are, kitten?" Asami was clearly affected, his voice had a new, husky quality to it that made more heat rush down Aki's spine.  
He was turned, until he sat on the bed, between Asami's spread legs, his naked back against the man's warm, clothed chest. "Hand around my neck." The instruction puffed against his ear, immediately enforced with a teasing bite to his neck, when he hesitated.  
Putting his arms around his neck made him stretch, made him bare his chest and even more vulnerable.  
He couldn't stop himself from squirming, then his owner's hands started stroking over his chest. Warm and with pressure, forcing his muscles to relax, just like he said. 

"Good boy. Relaxing so beautifully for me." And his pants were twitching again.  
Another gentle up-and-down, then Asami started concentrating on his nipples. At first, his flat hands started stroking them in circles of varying pressure.  
"They're already getting hard under my hands, pet." The purr sounded like praise. As if he was praising his body for reacting.  
"Just like that, kitten. Relax and let yourself enjoy this. I can't wait to make you purr for me."

Broad hands gently brushed over the hardening peaks with soft fingerpads, only to repeat the motion ever so gently with sharp fingernails. Aki couldn't help the hiss that left his mouth.  
He was getting way too hot. 

"You like a little scratching, hm? Let's see how hard you like it, then."

And he did. Asami kept stroking him gently, lured him to relax until he pulled his fingernails over them, harder and harder with each turn.  
Until he was squirming in earnest. It hurt, it really, really did.  
But, oh, the contrast with the tender, relaxing petting was driving him crazy.  
"Asami, please..."

"Please, what? You want more, kitten?"  
Asami's hands stopped for a moment while he waited for a reply. When he starting kissing up Aki's neck again, answering became exceedingly more difficult. 

"Not...not more scratching?"  
Because, gods, it felt good. But if Asami kept it up, his nipples would be raw in no time. 

He heard a dark laugh. "No more scratching, pet. Now, I'm going to pinch them. Let's see how you handle that."  
And he did. Without even giving him a chance to reply, Asami pinched his abused little nipples between his thumbs and forefinger and gave them gently squeezes that seemed to go directly to his crotch. 

And he didn't let go. No, he kept up the same light pressure, twisting and pulling them gently while whispering filth into his ear. The teasing and praise made him blush and squirm.  
"You want it harder, Aki? Tell me. Tell me and I'll make you cry pretty tears. Make you come all over yourself like you deserve."  
Deserve?  
"Oh yes. You deserve it, for letting me play with you."

The pressure increased and Aki couldn't keep himself from squirming anymore. "Please, please"-  
"Please what, kitten?" Oh, Gods, Asami was enjoying this. That voice...  
"Please let you rub against my leg until you come into your pants, pet? Is that what you want?"  
A visible shudder went through his body. "You- you wouldn't"-  
"Oh yes, I would." A shocked, delighted, weird moan came out of his mouth. He really would, wouldn't he?

As soon as the sound left his mouth, he was manhandled until he was straddling one of Asami's legs. And it gave him all the right pressure in all the right places.  
Fuck, those eyes! "Don't be shy, pet. Make yourself feel good. Rub your little cock against my leg."  
Aki was about to implode from shame and arousal, caught between both emotions, unable to move.  
Then, Asami's mouth descended on one abused nipple and he couldn't help it anymore.  
The harder it was sucked into the man's warm mouth, the harder it was bitten, the more desperately he moved. 

"Good boy." The warm, perfect mouth pulled off, yet he couldn't stop. "That's it. My pretty kitten, rubbing himself off like a shameless little slut."  
Humiliation shot through him but the proud, tender note in the damnable voice kept it from hurting.  
Then, the mouth latched onto his other nipple and he lost all rational thought again. 

And Asami kept going until he couldn't help it anymore until he came in his pants, like a kid that had never been touched before.  
It left him shaky, cold and strangely clingy.  
He couldn't look at Asami. 

Not until the man stopped letting him get away with it, anyway.  
"That was good. You earned your shower, Akihito."

Feeling the hard, shockingly large erection against his leg made him tremble. Gods, he was so, so screwed. 

***

Asami kept holding him until he stopped trembling. And then made him make and drink tea, before letting him take his shower. 

It was glorious. And worth coming in his pants after humping his owner...


	6. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you're doing well <3
> 
> So, about this chapter:
> 
> There is pretty graphic talk about prison rape. It starts with the second set of stars and ends at the third one.  
> Please take care of yourselves and skip, if you need to.
> 
> Thank you again for all your lovely support <3

"Asami-sama trusts you enough to take you with him to business meetings." Tao's voice indicated nervousness.

"Well...it seems like it." Aki hadn't seen that as a big sign of trust but welp... If Tao wanted to talk about it in the darkness of their cell, it probably was a big thing.

"I'm glad he had you come over. I was... so nervous."  
Akihito could relate to that. "I was nervous when I came in. I was so scared of messing up." Silence. He felt as if Tao actually wanted to talk about something else but didn't quite feel bold enough to address whatever was on his mind. Hm. Aki wasn't sure if he could dare to address the shower Tao was allowed without making his friend uncomfortable. He didn't want to pry into his personal business too much. However, Tao had been very forthcoming about his and Feilong's relationship so far.  
Perhaps it would help Tao to ask him about whatever he wanted to talk about himself.  
He bit his lip, then decided to just take his chance, and ask. "Was that why Feilong-sama let you shower in his room?"

"Uhm..."  
The silence made Aki want to take his words back.  
"I... I get really scared when Feilong-sama's business partners are around. I had some... really bad experiences with multiple men around. He always rewards me, when I stay calm."  
Aki wanted to hug Tao so badly but he couldn't, he was scared to cause his friend to stop talking.

"And playing with you and Asami was also really good. He was very proud of me." Tao's voice sounded so small, he wished he could go back in time to prevent whatever caused this much fear. 

Tao's apprehensive happiness at pleasing Feilong made an unpleasant feeling rise up in his stomach. He could see himself react like this to pleasing Asami in a terrifyingly short amount of time.  
Intimacy and understanding were rare goods in prison and getting them caused dependency on the person who offered them shockingly fast.  
He already basked in any positive attention Asami chose to bestow on him. Being touched without needing to fear for a negative outcome was... good. A need that had been unfulfilled for years was finally being met again, the idea of losing Asami's gentle touches was painful. Even the more painful ways the man chose to touch him in were humiliatingly great. He enjoyed the touch of his owner, although he knew that he was being used to sate the man's own needs. These thoughts made him desperate to stir the conversation in another direction. He couldn't deal with the realization how dependent he felt already.  
So, he spit out the first thing that came to his mind.

"I don't ever want to play poker with either of those two!"  
Tao giggled. "I don't know, Aki, poker could be fun."  
"Are you crazy? They'd take us to the cleaners!"  
"Well, loosing can be fun too, you know?" There were more giggles coming out of his friend's mouth.  
"What?! If Asami beat me at poker, he'd use that to do something perverted to me!"  
"Exactly!"  
Aki sputtered at Tao's dry reply. "Tao!" Who was this guy and what had he done to the guy he had met back in training school?

He could hear a short laugh, then a sheepish "Sorry, Aki."  
Tao took a deep breath "It's just that Feilong-sama doesn't really want things like that from me. And... I just don't know what to do."  
Tao sounded really distressed by this.  
"He lets me suck him off sometimes but I just... I don't feel like I'm keeping my part of the deal."  
Aki could relate to that, in some way. Asami hadn't gotten any orgasms from him so far and his owner still held up his end up of their bargain.

"Perhaps he just isn't gay." Aki tried to reassure his friend.  
That received a snort. "It's not about that in here, Aki. And he is clearly interested sometimes but he just... he doesn't do anything about it."  
"You're still a bit younger than me, Tao. He might have a problem with that."  
"No, that's not the problem." His friend sounded resigned, tired.  
"He saved me out of a bad situation. And I think asking me to use my body would make him feel like he was one of those guys. But he isn't. And I don't know how to make him understand that."

Aki felt a familiar clench in his gut at the mention of Tao's past in Fuchu.  
"I feel bad because he doesn't let me repay him enough."

After that, Tao just stopped talking until Akihito gave up.  
It was time to sleep anyway.

***

"What a nice view."  
Aki bumped his head into the bed frame and yelped. 

He had been cleaning Asami's cell for some time now and had started on scrubbing the tiles under the bolted-in bed. It was back-breaking work, he lay halfway under the metal frame, sitting on his knees while he tried to reach every corner.  
He could feel a presence behind him before he even managed to scoot back from under the bed. Then, the presence left, a chair was scraping over the floor and he could hear the man fold into the chair.  
Still, he could feel golden eyes on his ass just as well as if he saw them himself.  
"Damn pervert." It was just a mutter under his breath when he finally came up to a kneel.  
He froze.  
A flash of panicked heat went through his body: did he really call Asami a pervert right now?  
"Come here." Oh oh. 

Nervously, Aki shuffled over to his owner. Asami managed to look larger than life, sat on the cheap aluminum chair. Before the man could open his mouth again, he rushed to press kisses to the firm mouth.  
Fast, nervous little pecks to try and show that he wanted to be good. He knew he had messed up.  
As soon as his hair was grabbed, he froze.  
"Did you just call me a pervert, pet?" Oh, fuck.  
"I'm sorry! Please, Asami-sama! I...I..."

He was forced down on one of the man's legs and held in place by a strong arm around his waist. It could as well have been an iron band around his chest for all the movement it afforded him. 

"Are you now, Akihito?" His desperate nod was caught short by the hand in his hair.  
"Do I really have to teach you a lesson about disrespect, pet?"  
The boy couldn't stop the shiver that started to wreck his body.  
"Please, Asami-sama, I didn't mean to"-  
Oh Gods, how could he be so stupid? So careless?  
Asami let him get away with grumpy little glances, he'd never let him get away with calling him names. Not names like that.  
Perverts were child-predators, rapists, people who harmed others outside of these walls. People who were the first to be murdered in here. Or to become murderers.  
One didn't call anyone a pervert in prison if one wanted to live.

"Please, please don't cut me loose!" The scared sob coming out of his mouth was so loud in the silent room. As were his agitated breath and the desperate tone of his voice.  
A harsh, dominating kiss was put on his lips and continued until he was too stunned to cry more. 

"I won't cut you loose, brat. But it seems that I have to teach you a lesson about what each of us is entitled to here."  
Aki didn't know what scared him more, the dangerous note in the deep voice or the gentle squeeze his hip was given.  
He couldn't lose Asami's protection.  
"I... I'll do whatever you want, Asami-sama. I promise! I"- 

"Shhh." Aki's voice broke and he fixed scared eyes on his owner's face. "You do that anyway."  
"Now, as this is the first time, I will be very kind to you, Akihito.  
I will only tell you what your life would look like if I really was a pervert. Then, I will let you go and you can ask me for forgiveness again."

Akihito nodded, yet couldn't stop the chatter of his teeth. How could he be so lucky? Asami was well within his rights to beat him up or worse. 

"Good. You're going to listen to me and keep your mouth shut until I allow you to speak again."

Aki desperately hoped that his chattering teeth didn't count as disobedience. He really couldn't help it.  
The hand on his hair grabbed him even harsher as if Asami wanted to rip out his hair by the roots. 

***

"If I was a pervert, Akihito, I wouldn't have made moves on you in my cell. I would have cornered you in the laundry room because I wouldn't give a shit about your dignity.  
You would have blushed for me, but not from arousal, pet. I would have slapped you around until you were too dazed to fight back."  
Breathing became harder and harder. There would be nothing he'd be able to do to fight back if this giant of a man ever attacked him. 

"Then, I'd choke you out. Squeeze the breath out of you until you're too scared of dying to fight back. You know what I would have done after that, kitten. Don't you?"  
Oh, Gods. Please don't let Asami be mad at him for whimpering. Please-

He jumped violently when his hand was grabbed and forced on Asami's crotch. He had already felt the man's giant cock under his leg. But-

"I'd force you down, pet. Give you some grease and tell you to loosen yourself up, if you know what's good for you. If you'd hesitate, I'd just kick you around some, you'd come around eventually.  
Authorities don't think it's rape if they find grease under your fingernails, kitten. I'd rape your ass again and again and no one would do shit about it."  
Panicked, Aki gripped onto Asami's overall. He wouldn't do that. He said he wouldn't, right? 

"After you'd try to slick yourself up, begging and crying, I'd just stick it in. Fuck you till I'm done, blow my load in you and get up. You'd be ripped open, pet. Bleeding and hurting and I wouldn't care.  
I'd just tell you to get dressed, march you to your cell and order you to stuff your pants with toilet paper so no one sees the bleeding."

Aki wanted to beg, so so badly. But he couldn't. He wasn't allowed to talk.  
"And then, I'd do it over and over again. Eventually, you'd get an infection. Perhaps you make it, perhaps you don't. It wouldn't matter a thing to me."

***

His head was forced up again. "Do you still think I'm a pervert, kitten? Because that's what perverts do in here."  
"N..." Talking was hard. It was so hard. "No, Asami-sama. No!"

The cold, steely expression in the golden eyes softened minutely.  
"Good. Then we will lay on the bed and I'll hold you until you are calm again. When you're done, you can come up with a way to apologize."

It took Aki more than half an hour to stop shaking and calm his breathing back down. Asami's warm hands ran soothing circles over the big muscle groups in his body. The man massaged his shoulders, back, and legs, without ever letting his touch become sexual.  
Once his breath was calm, he couldn't help but press into Asami's touch. 

"I'm sorry. Really."  
"Hush, kitten." He very nearly sighed with relief when he was pecked on the forehead. Asami wasn't angry with him.  
"Take a little nap and when you wake up, we will talk about this calmly. Then, you will give me a nice apology and we will move on from it."

A nap sounded heavenly. He was tired. The panic at the pictures Asami conjured up in his head left him utterly exhausted.  
"I won't do anything while you sleep, pet. All I will do is make sure you can take a safe nap, alright?"  
Gods, the damnable need for reassurance and affection was rising up again. He fought himself for a moment, yet ultimately surrendered and huddled against Asami's warm body.  
The gratitude for feeling an arm wrap around him made him blush. It was pathetic but it was what prison did to him.  
Rather quickly, his body caved to exhaustion and carried him off into a slumber. 

***

When Aki woke up, he was warm and comfortable. He tensed for about a second, once he remembered where he was but relaxed just as fast.  
Asami was done punishing him. 

"Are you with me again, kitten?"  
He gave a small nod and stayed huddled against Asami's chest. The low chuckle didn't even make him blush.  
"You understand why I had to punish you?"  
"Yes, Asami-sama." His mutter was apparently an acceptable reply. Another kiss landed on his forehead.  
"Good boy. If I let you get into a habit of calling me names, you could end up disrespecting me in public accidentally. That's not acceptable. And calling me any kind of sexual predator is never acceptable. I don't have to tell you how dangerous it would be, do I?"  
At that, Aki had to bite his lips to quash his reply. There was plenty predatory about Asami, after all. Still, he was right. Asami wasn't that kind of predator and calling him one in public, even accidentally, could cause dire consequences for the both of them.  
That got him a warning squeeze on his hip and a chuckle. "I know that my behavior is predatory, Akihito. We're in prison. You depend on me, you can't get away and are under duress. But I don't violently rape my partners, I just play rough. I told you I would wait until you feel safe with me and can enjoy yourself, and I'm going to keep my word."  
Oh yes, Asami did like to play rough... Aki could still feel his nipples rubbing up against the fabric of his overall whenever he moved. He managed a chastened "Yes, Asami-sama."

"Do you understand why I punished you the way I did?"  
That was a sound no. He had honestly expected a thrashing...  
"I don't want you to fear me, kitten.  
You try your hardest to be a good boy for me, trying to force my will on you by slapping you around or constantly intimidating you wouldn't accomplish anything."  
Rationally, he knew that what Asami was doing was just as bad. He didn't slap him around, he just used his power and Akihito's most basic needs for a human connection and touch against him to get what he wanted. Still, if he could choose the way he was raped, he'd rather take the one he could possibly enjoy. "You're my pet and I'm your owner. I want you to feel safe with me, at all times. Even if you mess up."  
Asami was wholly successful on that. Even the second after the word had left his mouth, he hadn't been afraid of the man himself. He had been scared to death that he would cut him loose. "What- What if I do something really bad, though?"  
Another chuckle rumbled through the chest under his ear.  
"I'll be so good to you, you won't dare to go behind my back. Betrayal would be the only thing that would really anger me. And you don't want to do that, pet."  
No, he really didn't. If he'd be lucky, betrayal would only cause him to lose his protector, and even this minimal cost was too much for him. He couldn't afford to anger Asami enough to let him go. 

Losing Asami would make him a stray again and someone would snatch him up. Very likely someone much more brutal than this man.

"And if I'm just...grumpy...and mess up?"

"When you stay within the rules, but feel like being a brat?" That was one way to put it.  
"Or if you just make mistakes because of poor judgment?"  
"Both." He started to fiddle with Asami's overall.  
"I might make you clean my bathroom with a toothbrush if you make a punishable mistake, kitten. I mean it. I don't want you to fear me, not even when you make me angry."  
Okay. Cleaning wasn't the worst punishment he could think of. Boring and exhausting and probably effective but not scary.  
"And if you feel like being a brat, you'll find that I am very well equipped to deal with that." To his surprise, the teasing lilt in the man's voice actually made him smile.  
"I thought you didn't want me to be scared." There was actually a soft, teasing note in his own voice. Asami was doing a great job of reassuring him. 

"Would you be scared if I played with your nipples again, pet? I'd be rougher than yesterday and it would take a lot of pretty begging for you to get to come at all."  
"No." Aki shook his head, enjoying the slight heat that rose up in his belly. "I'd feel safe."

"Good." Akihito downright basked in the reassuring warmth of the man's body. Asami's breath was deep and even and his heartbeat was a steady, slow rhythm underneath his ear. "Now, give me one of your sweet little kisses pet and I'll forgive you."

A shy smile flashed across Akihito's face, then he raised his head and pressed a short, barely there kiss on Asami's mouth.  
It spread into a smile while he pulled away.  
"Such a good boy. Do you want to keep laying here until you have to go?"  
In answer, Aki pressed his ear against Asami's chest again.  
As he drifted off to sleep again, a peck landed on the crown of his head.

"Sleep well, my cute kitten. I forgive you."


	7. Nature's Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanna know something fun?
> 
> This chapter was all done and ready to post at 5k words on the 8th of December.  
> When I went to post it on the 9th, it was gone. The file corrupted and it was GONE. Seriously, I very nearly cried. 
> 
> Then work happened and I didn't get to write for days D: 
> 
> Tl;dr: FINALLY I rewrote everything and I hope you enjoy it ;)
> 
> All the love,  
> Sunny

Akihito didn't tell Tao about his messing up. And he also didn't mention Asami punishing him. He just couldn't.

His friend would be retroactively terrified for him.

Calling each other perverts in training school had been normal. But he wasn't ignorant of what it meant in prison. He just hadn't been aware how big of a deal it was.

Sighing, he scrubbed at a stubborn stain underneath the table.  
Suoh had taken him to Asami's cell just after lunch and told him to re-do the whole floor he had been scrubbing the day before.  
That had been an hour ago. Now, his back was hurting and his hands were raw.

"What a lovely sight."  
A shiver of recognition buzzed through Akihito's body. He was sitting with his back to the door, ass in the air. Just like the day before.  
Asami had arranged for him to be in this position again. "Welcome back, Asami-sama." He tried to keep the nervous tremor out of his voice but he could tell himself that he wasn't very successful. 

"Good boy, Akihito." 

A bunched up muscle in his back relaxed at the praise. So, Asami was giving him a chance do yesterday over again.  
Another of his abused muscles let go of its tension when Asami's hand came down to scratch his scalp.  
"Stop cleaning and make us some tea, pet. You deserve a break."

Groaning, Aki struggled to come to his feet. Bending down to grab his bucket of water and brush, he hobbled over to the kitchenette and emptied it into the sink.  
Thanks to his sore muscles, even reaching up to grab the tea-tin was torturous. 

When he managed to make his way over to Asami without any spillage, he let himself fall onto the bed without a second thought. Hell, he didn't even care if the man decided to take full advantage of his prone position, he was that tired. 

He ignored the chuckling in favor of closing his eyes for a few seconds.  
"Do you need my help to drink your tea, pet?"  
"No." Aki sighed and slowly moved back to a sitting position. "Thanks to all that scrubbing, my back is killing me. But I can manage."  
"Good." A teacup was held out for him. "Drink up, then you can get comfortable again."

Although he tried to enjoy his tea in an appropriate fashion, Aki couldn't help but inhale it.  
When he put his cup down, he was manhandled into a more comfortable position on his side.  
"Are you comfortable enough to have a longer conversation, Akihito?"  
What did Asami want to talk about? "Yes."

"We should address why you think I'm a pervert for looking at your body, kitten."  
Because openly ogling someone's ass wasn't perverted at all... The man's bigger body wrapped around him from behind. "Are you giving me a "the birds and the bees" talk?" He couldn't help his scandalized squawk.  
Asami chuckled "It's more of a lion and gazelle talk in here, don't you think? But yes. Yesterday showed me that we need to talk about it." Sighing, Aki let his head fall against the man's broad chest and resigned himself to have this talk.  
"Okay, teach me whatever I need to know, Asami-sama."

He was given a little reprimanding nibble to his neck. "You better listen, kitten. I might test you later."  
Before Aki could express his affront again, a warm hand was put on his stomach and a soothing kiss landed on his neck.

"You are aware that I'm going to fuck you in a few weeks, pet. And you should know that I'm looking forward to it.  
If I didn't care about you at all, kitten, I would be doing it already."  
The warm hand on his belly started to draw relaxing circles on his overall.  
"But I want you to enjoy it. I need to know why you reacted so emotionally yesterday if you want me to be able to do that."

And just like that, an embarrassing conversation had gotten even more embarrassing.  
"I'm not gay. Men don't look at other men's butts like that."  
Ugh... Could he sound any more like a petulant child? Aki hid his heavy blush against the pillow. 

Apparently, his response was hilarious. The giant behind him laughed. And then, he turned his head around to give him one of his delicious kisses in reward. 

After Asami had calmed down again, he was back to being serious.  
"You are not a man, kitten. You are a pet." The gentle tone of his voice made the remark all the more humiliating.  
"A pet is a walking set of holes, that happens to belong to someone. In this case, yours are mine."  
Aki choked.  
"I'm not just"- he couldn't even voice his outrage, he was too shocked by the words.  
"Hush." He was turned around for another kiss and too baffled to do anything but comply. "I do see you as a human being, Akihito. But you are also just that to me: someone I can use to get off in, whenever I please."  
'In' not on, not with, 'in'. Aki could only blink at his owner. Well, shit.

Asami's fingers brushed against his cheek "That's just how things are in here, kitten. You can't be hurt by hearing it or people will use it against you."  
Asami was right. Still, that didn't stop Aki's eyes from burning with angry, humiliated tears.

"You don't enjoy being a sex object, and you don't want to be reminded of it. I understand. But that doesn't mean that I won't see you as one when I feel like it. Or that others won't be cruel enough to mock you for it."

That bastard, why did he have to address all this bullshit so easily?  
Unbidden, it broke out of him: "That's all so easy for you! You don't have to be humiliated just to survive in here! How am I supposed to ever feel like a man, when I get out, huh?!"  
Gods, why did his damn owner have to take him seriously? Why couldn't the guy be a total asshole who just did what he wanted? At least, that wouldn't mess with his head like this.  
"Can't you just get it over with? I won't be able to look at myself in a mirror anyway. It doesn't matter."

"You don't want me to that, pet. You may have been a bad boy in your past, but even you don't deserve that."  
And just like that, Aki broke down. The unbidden tears spilled all over his cheeks and his mouth started to tremble.  
"You... you don't know.... what I"-  
"I do, Akihito." Then, he was pulled against Asami's chest and held until his eyes couldn't produce any more tears.

For a minute or so, Aki tried to push the man away, furiously wiping his tears. This whole mess was turning him into a big, crying wuss. But soon enough, his hands were caught in one bigger one and he was crushed against Asami's warm chest.  
"Of course, I know, silly boy. Do you think Feilong wouldn't give me any information about you?"  
"But I'm-"  
"Hush. I did far worse things than you could ever do, kitten. And I'm not even here for any of them."

Worse things than causing someone's death?

It didn't even take him a full second to answer is own question: absolutely. Asami was clearly more dangerous to society than he could ever be.  
The gentle petting on his back helped to slow down his sobs. 

"You need to understand one thing, kitten. I could just use you whenever I like but that wouldn't get me what I truly want. I want a pet whom I can trust, and who is happy to be with me.  
If I can't have you around for business meetings without worrying about your silence, I can't have you around at all.  
And if you're not happy to be with me, I'm robbing myself of an enjoyable time. You should know me well enough to understand that I don't do that."

That, inexplicably, made Aki laugh.  
No, Asami wasn't a man who'd deny himself pleasure.  
"So, you won't just go ahead and rape me because it's less fun than making me like it, huh?" 

"You are catching on." A placid, sucking kiss was pressed to his lips.  
Then, Asami lowered his voice to a conspirational whisper "Worry about being a man when you get the chance to be one, kitten. It makes it easier."

Aki couldn't help the unimpressed eyebrow that rose on his forehead and promptly blushed at the devilish smirk it provoked.  
"I just don't worry my pretty little head about it until I get there, hm?"  
Asami actually laughed at his sugary-sweet cheery tone.  
"Exactly. Use that pretty head for your school and to please me, that's more than enough for now."

"Well, if I'm a walking set of holes, pleasing you shouldn't be too difficult. I just have to bend over."  
For a moment, the man just looked at him.  
"You are feeling safer with me."

Damn it. Yes, yes he did.  
Aki nodded. Congratulations, the bastard had achieved his goal.  
"Good. I like you better when you feel safe enough to sass me a little."  
"Just not too much..." Aki bit his lip and looked up at the golden eyes for reassurance.  
"Smart boy." He was pulled into a dominating kiss and ravished until he was completely boneless. His owner hadn't kissed him this thoroughly since he had earned his shower. 

When Asami pulled back, his lips were tingling again. As strange as it was, he had missed this feeling. The kisses never felt threatening, just overwhelming and so delicious that the tingles spread all through his body.  
After all this stress, it felt divine. 

"Do you want to play with me, Asami-sama?"  
"My, that breathless voice. One could think you were trying to seduce me, Akihito." Gods, that rumbling voice.  
He managed to put only a trace of petulance on his face "Got to test if you keep your word."  
For his sass, he was immediately silenced with a rather aggressive kiss which left his lips bitten and bruised. 

"Oh, you are tempting me, kitten. Do you want to know what I will do to you if you sass me again?"  
Aki managed a wide-eyed nod. It didn't even matter what Asami would tell him, the man's sinful words always did him in. Short of just deciding to fuck him on the spot, there would be very little he wouldn't agree to. 

A long finger brushed the naked skin at his clavicle. "I want to pull your clothes down to your hips, pet. Get a look at your pretty body again. I have to check if you're still sensitive after I played with your nipples."  
"Will you hurt them again?" The shy want in his voice made his face color in embarrassment.  
Immediately, the smirk became entirely predatory. "Will you be a good boy and ask for it, Aki? I could also pet your entire torso and ignore them completely if you stay mouthy." And the bastard started circling that long, strong finger over his chest, around and around his nipple but never touching it. He wouldn't be able to stand minutes of this without begging. 

Before he could even try to open his mouth, Asami's was next to his ear.  
"But if you ask me prettily enough, kitten, I'll pinch them again. Remember how much you liked that? It made you squirm so much, pretty pet. Made me want to let you come, remember?"  
Gods, he remembered. He had rubbed against Asami's thigh like a needy bitch.  
Afraid of what he'd say, Aki, buried his head against Asami's neck and started kissing it. That was a first for him, though still preferable to the needy things threatening to spill out of his mouth. 

"Good boy." His hair was grabbed harshly and his head was moved up and down Asami's neck. " But I'll still make you beg for my fingers on your nipples, no matter how sweetly you kiss me, kitten."

Aki couldn't stop the whimper that came out of his throat. If Asami wanted him to beg, he'd make him beg. And, to add even more embarrassment, the humiliation would only further his excitement...  
He was pulled back harshly, only to be kissed again.  
"I want to feel your tight little ass under my hands, Aki." He promptly froze.  
A reassuring line of pecks was kissed up his neck. "Trust me, kitten. Show me that our talks are worth my time."  
The worry was clearly visible on his face, as Asami started to stroke his back in the same calming rhythm he had used before.  
"First, we'd play with your nipples, Akihito, to make you needy and relaxed. Then, I'd put my hands on your cheeks, pet. Pet and squeeze them a bit, give you a few little spanks to show you how good I can make you feel." One hand continuously stroked from one hip bone to the other, still firmly on his back yet so close to the body part he was talking about.  
"If you enjoy yourself, I will pet your hole for a bit, kitten." A hot shiver went down Aki's spine at the circling petting motion one of Asami's middle fingers that started above his tailbone.  
"I won't push in, I promise. Just some petting to make you feel so, so good, kitten."  
"You- you would not pull my pants down, right?" Gods, he was so, so red.  
The delicious chuckle in reply nearly made him squirm "Oh no, Aki. I'd just pet your pretty little hole until I have to kiss you to stop your needy little whimpers.  
You are going to love it, kitten, and I'm going to hold you until you shake apart in my arms like the good boy that you are."  
Fuck. Asami would do that sooner than later anyway, right? 

"Okay."  
"You want me to pinch your nipples until they hurt, pet?" The growly rasp in the man's voice made Aki squirm again.  
Please! He hadn't known that nipples could feel neglected, but his did right now. And they were begging for his owner's cruel attentions.  
"How about your delicious little ass, kitten? Will you let me play with that too? Just to see if I can make my slutty little pet hump me again?"

This time, the whimper came out and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. "Please, Asami-sama!"  
For his troubles, he got a harsh bite to his clothed shoulder. "Please, what? What do you want me to do to you?"  
"Please play with my nipples, Asami-sama. Please pinch them again?"  
"Good boy, Akihito." His right nipple was pinched through his overall.  
Despite the forwardness, the gentle tone of Asami's voice helped to keep him relaxed. "Strip that off for me and I'll torture them for you, kitten. How about your ass? Do you want me to play with that too?"

"Yes... please. Make it good?" There was still a little note of apprehensiveness in his voice, yet he wasn't entirely scared anymore. If Asami promised he'd make it good, he would.  
"I will, pet. You will feel so good, you will want it again and again. Your tight little hole will be begging for my touch, whenever you catch me looking at your ass, kitten."

Just like that, Aki turned fire-engine red. Still, Asami had been right about his nipples... There was no way in hell he ever would have allowed anyone to touch them this roughly, but Asami hadn't given him a real choice and had managed to steamroll him with pleasure.

With uncoordinated movements, Aki ripped the press buttons open. Before he could attempt to push his overall down his arms, bigger hands took over. The garment was pushed down to his wrists, leaving his upper body naked and his hands trapped behind his back.  
The hand spent a moment gentling him, then it moved up to his throat and grabbed it with calculated force. He was pulled upright and manhandled carefully until he came to sit astride Asami's lap.  
Reflexively, Akihito gasped, trying to suck in as much air as he could before being choked. The choking never came, though.  
He was only held in place by the warm grip around his neck. When he started to relax, the thumb began a gentle up and down over his carotid artery.  
"Trust me, pet. I'm not going to choke you out. I'll just make sure you don't squirm away from my hand. You'll want to squirm away from the hurt in your nipples, pet, right?"

Aki gave a tentative nod, brows drawn together in nervous anticipation. And then a peck landed between his drawn eyebrows and a rich chuckle made more heat pool in his belly. The warm hand started to pet his chest in long, heavy strokes. The sheer size of that hand was terrifying and exhilarating, although he had already felt it on his skin before and knew how gently it had handled him so far. He actually jumped, when a long finger circled his left nipple. "Good boy, Akihito. Just relax and let me play with your body." Aki bit his lips when pleasure zapped from his chest to his groin. Gods, Asami was good at this! He kept at a firm circling motion until he couldn't keep himself from pressing his chest into the other man's touch. His gaze was drawn down to his chest, eyes glued to the finger touching his nipple. From time to time, the thumb came up to join the forefinger in the circling motion, but the fingers never closed down to a pinch. Watching them- not- pinch him made him wiggle on the man's lap. Did he need to beg again?

Would his owner really be so cruel?

When the fingers very nearly pinched down yet just stroked him again, he forced his gaze up to Asami's face. What he saw, let, even more, color rise on his cheeks.  
His owner was intently watching his face. The hunger and amusement in the golden eyes only caused more wriggles and a nervous intake of breath on his part. Gods, what those eyes did to him!  
Now that his eyes were locked with Asami's, he couldn't look away. And there was a firm circle on his chest again...

"Please?" He sounded breathless and desperate. No one had ever touched him in a way that felt this good. As much as it pained him to admit it, this man gave him pleasure that he hadn't ever received before. 

A cruel smirk played over delicious lips when the fingers clamped down. Hard. Gods, it hurt!  
Before he could beg for less pressure, the fingers started a harsh massage of pressing down and releasing him for gentle rubs over the abused skin.  
Still, his owner's eyes remained focused on his and held him captive.  
"Already rubbing up against me, what a shameless pet I have."  
Aki froze mid-movement. Asami was right, he had been rubbing up against him!  
Now that he concentrated on something other than the hypnotic eyes or the exquisite pain in his chest, he could feel the large bulge he was pressing up against.  
It sent humiliated shocks through his body but he didn't dare to move back just yet. Asami didn't sound angry, did he?  
"Don't be scared, kitten. I'm glad you feel safe enough to rub up against my cock. You should get used to feeling it anyway."  
The man didn't let him ponder those words at all. Instead, he used the hand on his neck to pull him into a short, heated kiss. "Such a good boy."  
Another light kiss landed on his lips, then that damnable voice was speaking directly into his hear: "If you move a bit harder, Aki, you can earn yourself a reward later."  
At that, Akihito gave a muffled mewl. He knew exactly what Asami was doing.  
If he moved harder, he'd pleasure his owner. The thought of possibly making the man come was scary. He would finally feel like he upheld his part of their bargain, however... he also would have used his body to get a man off.  
But he'd get a reward...  
Balling his hands into fists behind his back, he tentatively moved against Asami's body and went boneless the moment his own cock was pressed against the other man's. His other nipple had been sucked into a talented mouth and was receiving the most delicious torture.  
Between the gentle nibbles, harsher sucks, and soothing licks he was melting in his owner's lap.  
Even finding enough tension to keep moving his hips was hard. 

For a good two minutes, he could only manage small rocking motions, while the combined feeling and sounds of that sinful mouth on his body drove him crazy. Asami very obviously wasn't embarrassed about the sucking and smacking sounds of his lips, or the helpless little moans spilling over Aki's.  
The building pressure in his groin finally won out and forced him to move with more vigor. Feeling the hard bulge under his own crotch let unexpected pleasure crackle through his body.  
Asami was so hard, and he was the reason for it. 

He was so preoccupied with chasing his own pleasure against the warm drag of the other's cock, that he didn't even freak out when the hand on his neck moved directly to his hips.  
It forced him into a different, delicious rhythm. He was moved slowly against Asami's crotch and it felt divine.

Then the hand moved to his bottom and grabbed it with gentle force. When the other left his abused nipple to grab the other cheek, the nervousness only registered for a second, before their grip continued to force him into that bone-melting rhythm.  
He was about to come, rubbing up against Asami, and no amount of embarrassment could stop him. Just two, three more thrusts against the hard cock of his owner and -  
The mouth left his other nipple cold and wet and just like that, the bit of stimulation that would have brought him over the edge was gone. 

Denied his pleasure, his eyes flew open only to land on Asami's debauched looking face. The man's lips were red from the abuse and caresses they had dealt out, the usually impeccable hair was mussed and the darkened eyes seemed to bore into his soul. He was breathing louder. Somehow seeing the unruffled man affected was satisfying. 

The little sizzle of triumph helped calm the disgruntlement at being denied release, it even tempted him to seek out the reddened lips for a hungry kiss. As he had hoped, he was devoured.  
Asami's lips moved against his and his tongue easily found its way into his mouth to move with his on its own. Just like that, he was back to the edge again.  
When the lips pulled back momentarily to allow him to draw a few ragged breaths, he registered that the grip on his butt had spilled over into a rhythmic massage. And that it felt good.  
Still, he didn't get enough time to freak out, the mouth was back on his to stop any thought from taking root in his brain. 

Until he could suddenly feel those hands, warm and firm, directly on his skin. He was jerked out of his relaxed arousal and launched into fearful nervousness.  
"Shhh, kitten." He didn't want to react to the calming voice or the peck on his lips, he didn't! But...  
"It's going to feel so good, pet." Gods, that sinful, raspy voice. He was so, so screwed.  
The hands started their massage anew, forcing him into that toe-curling rhythm once again. Just a few pulls against Asami's body and he wasn't sure anymore if he was straining to rub his cock against his owner's or pushing back into his hands to be moved and massaged. There was nothing he could do about the breathless whimpers coming out of his mouth.  
When the forefingers moved into his crack, while still keeping up the massage, his eyes flew up to the golden ones again. He'd never admit it, but he needed reassurance. This was scary, no matter how good he felt. 

"Good. Keep looking at me. I'll make you feel so, so good, kitten."  
The firm, steady eye-contact helped to calm him. At least, until the fingers started to move up and down with gentle pressure. Feeling the pressure so close to his hole sent a curious, shivery pleasure through his body and pushed the breath out of him with a whoosh.  
As the careful caresses continued, his attempts to throw the rhythm the man set for them grew more insistent. He wasn't sure what it was, yet the pleasure he felt changed. And he needed a release. Oh, please, he needed release!

Then, the fingers ghosted over the skin of his hole and he very nearly shivered apart against Asami's body. There was no pressure in the tender circles they drew and drew over the furled skin but he couldn't concentrate on anything else.  
What finally did him in was the growl against his lips.  
He jerked in the man's grip and came all over himself the moment their cocks touched through their pants again.

He had two seconds to catch his breath before the fingers left his hole and he was grabbed with unforgiving force to be moved against his owner's body. All he could do was to whimper to himself, while Asami used his body to make himself come.  
Once he came with a growl, he was pulled into a tight hug and laid down on his side.  
Finally, his oversensitive body was granted the rest it needed during the time they both caught their breath. 

"You did so well, kitten." Asami held him until his breath had completely evened out and all of the shivers had subsided.  
"Are you alright?"

He was. It was unexpected, but he was alright.  
"Then I can get up to get you some water without you freaking out, pet?"  
Promptly, the blush was back. He was no wilting flower, goddamnit!  
"'m okay."  
After a kiss landed on his brow, Asami left the bed and came back with two mugs of water. Only after the first sip did Akihito notice how thirsty he was. Pleasing Asami was hard work...

"Here. Open up." It took him a moment to catch on until something was pressed against his lips. When he mechanically opened his mouth, the sweet deliciousness of chocolate hit his taste buds.  
With wide eyes, he took in the pleased expression on the man's face.  
He hadn't had chocolate for two years... at least before Asami had given him the pocky, that was.  
"There is a whole bar waiting for you to take back to your cell."

He savored the piece of chocolate in his mouth for as long as he could. Before the training school, he had demolished whole bars without a care in the world...now chocolate was so precious he could never imagine wasting it like that again.  
The gentle scratches on his scalp made him open his eyes again "Good reward, Akihito?"  
"Yes", he finally swallowed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You can have the first shower, too." He got a shower too?!  
Perhaps he should make Asami come more often, it definitely paid.  
"I won't even make you wash my pants." 

Wait, what?  
His head jerked back from the relaxed press into Asami's hand and his eyes landed on an amused face. Of course, the bastard would mock him...

"I could, kitten. You know that, don't you?" That smirk was clearly teasing and only became wider at the outrage on his face.  
Before he could voice it though, another piece of chocolate was pressed into his mouth, followed by a dry kiss on his lips. 

Gagged by chocolate and kisses, perfect.

***

All his relaxed muscles cramped up the moment Aki heard the commotion. There were loud, angry voices at the door and one of them was Asami's.

"YOU WILL DO SOMETHING AGAINST REJI TONIGHT OR I WILL"-  
Koishi!

Whatever Koishi was about to say, it broke off abruptly. 

Silence, for minutes. Then the door to the cell slammed shut, leaving him with more silence to decipher. 

Aki was huddled in a corner of the shower stall and couldn't move. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't move.  
He couldn't hear Asami's voice anymore.  
Where was Asami?  
Was he okay?

He couldn't move out of the shower.  
What if Koishi was still there?  
What if he had done something to Asami?

Oh please, don't let him find him in the shower!

If he was just silent enough, Koishi wouldn't find him, right?  
He just had to stay silent. Just sit still and not move.  
He would be safe.  
Right?


	8. Pounced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone :)
> 
> While I personally like this chapter, I am aware that it's a set-up/filler chapter. I plan to post the second part as soon as I can.
> 
> Hope all of you are doing well <3

"Aki?"  
His muscles seized up at the voice, startled. Tao!  
Why would Tao be here?

"Aki, it's just me, I promise!"  
He finally managed to unlock the muscles in his jaw "Tao?"  
It wasn't loud but at least he'd managed to make a sound.

There was a careful knock on the door before his friend pushed it open.  
He was glad it was Tao and not Suoh... he was still sitting naked under the stream of the shower.

"There was... a problem. Asami-sama wants you to get dressed and go to our cell with me."  
A problem? All breath was squeezed out of his lungs.  
"Is he okay?"  
Immediately, Tao nodded. "Yes, he's alright. We just need to go to our cell and lay low for today."

"Okay." Still, he couldn't quite move yet.  
Asami was okay. He was okay. Everything would stay the same.  
He was still safe.

"I'll switch the shower off, okay, Aki?"  
The cooling stream of water stopped. Then a towel was put around his shoulders.  
"Can you towel yourself dry or do you want me to help?"  
The tenderness in Tao's voice helped to calm him down a bit more. His friend wasn't looking down on him for his reaction.

For a moment, Aki just sat there, wrapped in the towel. Asami was alright, he was safe.

Eventually, he managed to stand up and dry himself. Everything would be fine.

***

It took them fifteen minutes to get back to their cell. When they arrived, they silently cuddled up in their bunks until dinner.  
Dinner itself was more stressful than Aki ever remembered it being. He was constantly watching his back.  
Even if Asami was okay, there could always be someone out for revenge...

After they made their way back to their cell, they remained silent again, until Aki was ready to talk after lights-out.

"Sorry, Tao."  
"Sorry for what?" His friend sounded genuinely surprised.  
He swallowed his trepidation "For making you come and get me."  
"Aki, are you kidding me?" 

The indignation in Tao's voice actually left him speechless for a moment.  
"If I had heard a struggle at the door and then nothing at all, I'd have hidden away too!"  
He heard him take a deep breath "You must have been so scared."

Yes, he had been. Gods, had he ever been!  
He had been so scared that Asami had been killed or hurt. What would have become of him, without Asami?  
Would Feilong have put him under his protection again?  
Or would he have been forced into being a stray once more?

"I was so scared to be alone again." For a second, he didn't even recognize his own voice. "I can't go back to being alone. I just can't."

"I know." Tao's voice was just above a whisper.  
"I'd try to keep you safe, I promise."

"I know," Aki whispered back. "But Asami is... it just wouldn't be the same."

As hard as it might be to admit, Asami was a good owner. He was lucky to have him, considering how much worse it could be. 

Asami just had to be alright.

***

The next morning, Aki was basically crawling up the walls.  
What had happened to Asami?

Did the weird tension in the room only exist in his head?  
No one acted any differently, not even the guards.  
Didn't they care what their big bad inmate had been up to?  
Or was Asami in solitary confinement?

Please, don't let him be in solitary!  
No one would dare to go after him if Asami was locked away, would they?

***

"Go take a shower, Asami-sama wants to see you."  
Aki nearly jumped out of his skin, when Suoh's voice pulled him out of his terrified thoughts.  
He fell more than jumped out of bed when he struggled to get out as fast as possible. It was already late in the afternoon, he and Tao had been going insane with nerves all day.

"Is Asami-sama okay?"  
That actually got him the ghost of a smile from the stoic man, "Yes, the boss is alright. But he is impatient to see you, so get on with it."

Too relieved to hear it from Suoh himself, Aki wasn't even angry at the gruff tone. If Suoh said his boss was fine, he really was.  
The scrambled to grab his toiletries and rushed over to the communal bathroom. It didn't even matter what Asami wanted him so shower for, he was just so glad to see the man again. 

Just eight minutes later, he was escorted up to Asami's cell again. The door rolled shut as soon as he entered the room, leaving him alone in the cell.  
It took him a moment to register the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom. At least, he now knew where Asami was.  
Which left him with a whole lot of relief and nervous energy to release...

Unsure about what to do, he paced for a moment and then decided on making tea. Even if that wasn't what Asami wanted, he probably wouldn't say no to a cup of tea.  
The practised motions and the, now familiar, smell of the tea leaves calmed him a little. Done waiting for the tea to steep, he moved two cups and the pot over to the table and plopped down on one of the chairs.

When the door to the bathroom swung open, he jumped in surprise, only to freeze with an 'eeep' the very next second.  
A very naked, obviously pissed off Asami emerged from the steaming room, clad with nothing more than a towel around his hips.  
Now he didn't only have the visual of the unbelievable muscles on the man's upper body, now he had a view of his strong legs too.  
If it took a muscle mass like this to remain safe in prison, he had been doomed from the start. Although his owner probably had a whole lot more going for him than that.

Without a word, the man pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. He poured two cups of tea, then put one down in front of Akihito and took a sip of his own.  
Slightly unsettled by the silence, Aki took a few sips from his cup. 

"Did Tao take care of you yesterday?"  
Oh.  
"Yes. He took me back to our cell."  
"Good. You stayed in the shower until he arrived?"  
The calm questions really didn't help to calm down his uncertainty on how to deal with this situation. Hell, he didn't even know what kind of situation he was in...  
Why was Asami sitting here- basically naked- and discussed his reaction to whatever had happened the day before?

"Yes." He was so bewildered, he wasn't even really embarrassed anymore. What was going on?  
"Good. Look at me." Immediately, his eyes found Asami's. The man's laser focus lay intently on his face.  
"If you notice anything amiss, you hide as well as you can. You don't intervene. Never, Akihito."  
Apparently, pets didn't defend their owners in this world.  
"Okay."  
"You're my kitten, not my pitbull, pet." The warm, teasing light in Asami's eyes brought a sliver of a smile to Aki's lips.  
"That would be Suoh, huh?"  
That got him a bark of laughter. "Indeed."

The slight release of tension in Asami's shoulders made him want to do more to help him relax.  
When he began to speak again, Aki immediately brought his eyes back to his face. "I mean it, kitten. Don't ever get involved. I want you safe and sound, not beaten to a pulp trying to fight my battles. Understood?"  
"Understood." He couldn't even imagine anyone trying to hit Asami, and if anyone did, Suoh would probably get involved much faster than he ever could.

For a short moment, they sat in silence. At least until Aki gathered the courage to ask what he really wanted to know.  
"What happened yesterday?" 

All of a sudden, the tension in his owner's shoulders was back. Fantastic.  
"Koishi was tiresome."  
Aki's impatience grew while he waited for that sentence to continue. The only reply he received was Asami taking another sip of tea... if that counted.  
There were so many questions going through his head, still, trying to press him about any of them would very likely only land him in hot waters.  
He'd have to limit himself to the most important one: "Is everything okay now?"

"Yes. I will have to spend a few days taking care of the fall-out but it's manageable."  
While Aki nodded his understanding, there was one thought in his head. "What about Yayoi?" If Asami had taken care of Koishi, there was a very high chance Yayoi needed help.  
Asami actually smirked at that. "You're worried about other people's pets now, kitten?"  
He bristled for a moment. Yayoi was a damn human. A human in a fucked up situation but still a human being worth worrying about.  
"Yes. What happened to him?"  
"He needs a new owner. We will make sure he won't end up with someone too bad, don't worry."  
Nerves flashed through Aki's body "Can't you get him someone good? Who's nice to him?" Yayoi had been so scared when he met him...

"Why, Akihito, are you trying to bargain with me?" Some of his tensed up muscles relaxed at the teasing tone.  
Apparently, he was. Damn it.  
"Yes, Asami-sama." The smirk only widened at the suffix.  
"So polite, when you want something, pet."  
"I... Please, Asami-sama? He doesn't deserve to have such a jackass again!"

On one hand, the teasing was relaxing, on the other hand, the calculated glint in Asami's eyes was terrifying. This man was clearly used to negotiations.

"Yayoi isn't a factor here, kitten. You are asking me for a favor. What I want to know is what you are offering to get it."  
Oh, gods. There were fairly obvious choices, yet he wasn't sure if he could keep his side of the deal if he offered them. 

"I"- He was interrupted by a siren.  
Lights were flashing in the hallway and a guard ran past the door.  
Unsure how to proceed, Aki stood. He should probably get back to his cell if this was a lock-down.

Before he even managed to step around his chair, a warm hand sat him back down with light pressure on his shoulder.  
Then, the door rolled shut and locked with a loud click.

Fuck.

"Are we in lock-down?"  
"We are." Asami calmly stood and went over to his bed.  
Aki turned away as soon as he saw the man bend down to grab his underwear.  
Finally, he got dressed again!

For a few minutes, Aki set in silence, waiting for Asami to finish getting dressed.  
A sudden bang on the door made him jump.  
"COUNT!"

Asami's strong hand pulled him to his feet before he could probably process the order and made him follow the man to the window in the cell door. 

"Asami Ryuichi, 2345-7642." Aki stood, gaping like a fish, in front of him in plain view of the guard, while Asami stated his name and registration number.  
When Aki failed to catch his cue, he was turned around by his shoulders.  
"Takaba Akihito. 9678-4421." Seemingly, the man knew his registration number by heart.  
The guard double-checked the number printed on his back, then nodded. 

"Can Takaba stay in your cell for this lock-down or do we need to remove him, Asami-san?"  
Wow, Asami got a -san from the guards? No one got any suffix from the guards, as far as Akihito knew. Seriously, who was this man?

"He can stay."  
Another nod, then the guard left. The light in the hallway switched off and the siren stopped ringing in their wing. 

Just when Aki wanted to relax again with the guard gone, the situation caught up with him- 'he can stay'?

"Asami-sama," he peeked up at the expressionless face. "Does that mean I'll stay here until morning?"  
"If lock-down ends then, yes."

Aki was about to take a nervous step back, only to be stopped by the hands on his shoulders.  
"We don't have to have the same talk we had yesterday again, do we?"  
"No." While he didn't believe that Asami would force himself on him, time and his weird mood aside, staying alone with him over-night was still scary.

"Then sit back down and think about what you can offer me."  
The hands lifted off his shoulders, allowing him to do as he was told.

Once he sat down, it was hard to keep his trepidation at bay.  
What could he offer to the man that he couldn't just ask for?

He startled when Asami's hand ruffled his hair.  
"Don't try to offer me anything you can't give, kitten. If you don't uphold your terms, I won't be obligated to keep my side of the deal."  
A bolt of fear prompted him to search his owners gaze "You would really do that to Yayoi?"  
He was looking at an expressionless, calm face. "This is not about Yayoi, kitten. This is about us. If you want something from me, you can politely ask for it. I can give it to you, I can deny you or I can make you earn it."

"But... I can't give you something that big." Shit. He sounded so scared.  
The stern expression softened minutely and the hand ruffled his hair again. "It doesn't have to be big. I only want you to think about ways to please me and to find something you feel safe enough to offer me."  
Still a bit out of his depth, Aki pressed against the warm body to his side. "Could I offer to kiss you?" Probably not, but he wanted to hear Asami's reaction.

It consisted of a chuckle and a massage to his neck. The hand from his hair had moved down and was now steadily relaxing his tense muscles.  
"That would be a long, long kiss, kitten."

Aki chewed his lips, what could he offer to this man?  
Getting him off was a pretty obvious choice, however, he wasn't entirely sure if he could go through with it. Getting Asami off while in the midst of being pleasured himself was something entirely different than purposefully trying to please his owner.  
"Uhm... I could shower with you?" He sounded unsure, though not because the idea scared him too much.  
Asami had told him that he wanted to see his body. And he had proven that he could stay in control, even when Aki allowed himself to strip parts of his clothes. 

The hand moved on to a gentle up and down between his shoulder blades.  
"You know that I wouldn't keep my hands to myself in that shower, Akihito. Would you still be able to do that?"  
The things they had done so far flashed through his mind.  
Would he be alright, if Asami were to pull him against his body and kiss him in that shower?  
Would he be alright, if Asami were to touch his nipples again, make him rub against his body?  
He very nearly whimpered when he thought about the large bulge he had moved against the day before...  
Could he deal with having all of that rub against him?

"Akihito?"  
"I... I'd be a bit scared. But I could do it!" He could do it! He wasn't that scared of a naked Asami, dammit!  
"Good. I wouldn't do anything new, pet. And you could still tell me if something is too much."  
Thanks to the reassuring words and the petting, Aki was just about back to a relaxed state.  
"Do you want to offer that shower to me, kitten?"

It didn't take much thinking on Akihito's part after Asami's reassurance. "Yes. If you promise to find someone good for Yayoi, I'll shower with you."  
The hand started to pet him with more pressure "I accept your offer, Akihito. You shower with me tomorrow morning and I will find a good home for Yayoi, as soon as the lock-down ends."

Out of impulse, Aki jumped up from the chair and wrapped his arms around the man's waist. "Thank you! Thank you"-  
"Hush." Asami's arms wrapped around his body. "You are mine, and I want to know if you want something, Akihito. I might deny you or make you work for it sometimes, but I will always listen."

Hearing that was like a punch to the gut. Since his conviction, no one had ever listened to him. Everyone just wanted him to say what they wanted to hear and ignored or punished him, if he didn't.  
"But I'm just your pet." 

"Exactly. And having someone I can trust is worth a little effort on my part."

Aki pecked Asami's chest while he processed what the man had just said. He hadn't really thought about what Asami would get out of their deal besides someone to fuck...

His head was pulled back by his hair.  
"Do you finally understand that this doesn't have to be bad, kitten?"

Asami was right. If the man was as trustworthy as he had been so far, he wouldn't beat him up or rape him. He would lose his virginity soon, but that would be the worst part of this deal. Obedience and cleaning duties aside... Though, if he could ask the man for favors for as little in return as that shower, he could probably get more in prison than he had ever thought...

Aki gave a tentative nod.  
"That's alright. You'll learn that being mine is a good thing over time."

Gods, tonight was the night of painful realizations, wasn't it?  
The bastard was right again. It was already getting harder to keep himself from depending on the man. He had been terrified when he had feared that he'd lost him and he craved the reassurance and consideration he provided him. Asami gave him too much good to be able to remain distant for long.

And they had nothing but time...

***

Half an hour later, Aki had done the dishes, both from the tea and the dinner that had been brought to their cell by two guards.  
It was the same bland prison-food as always, eating it with Asami though had been an experience.  
They had barely spoken to each other during dinner. Until the man had opened the cupboard and brought him his chocolate bar for dessert, of course.  
"My reward for"- How was he supposed to phrase that?  
"Being a good boy?" Immediately, Asami was back to smirking.  
"Yes." He stuffed two pieces of chocolate in his mouth to stop himself from bristling at the teasing. Teasing always only led to one thing and he wouldn't give Asami reason to go after him just yet.

After he wolfed down half the bar, he stopped, guiltily looking down at his fingers. Didn't he want to share that with Tao?

"What's the matter, pet? Are you full already?" Why did everything out of this man's mouth sound like mocking?  
"No, I just want to share the rest with Tao." 

Instead of another teasing reply, Asami's face smoothed to his usual intense expression. "He eats sweets when you share them with him?"  
Something in Asami's tone set him on edge. "He does. Am I not allowed to share?"  
What use were rewards if he wasn't allowed to share them with his friend? Especially the friend who had helped him to get rewards in the first place.

"Of course you are. Short of selling or gambling them away, you may do whatever you like."  
Aki shuddered. Gambling had been dangerous enough in training school, he didn't even want to know how bad it was in prison. As soon as you lost and were unable to pay, people used the debts to their advantage.  
Given his situation, Asami would probably bail him out...to make him pay double as punishment.

"If Feilong gave you sweets for Tao, would you make sure that he eats them?"  
Aki's eyebrows nearly vanished into his hairline. What?

"Can't Feilong", he managed to remind himself of the suffix. "Feilong-sama give him the sweets himself?"  
The distant look in Asami's eyes was at odds with the gentle scratches he gave to his scalp. "No. Tao gets scared when Feilong tries to give him material rewards that he doesn't share."

'That he doesn't share' probably meant that Tao had only been fine with drinking tea because Feilong had had his own cup.  
"Why?" He tried to ignore the worry for his friend, but couldn't. Tao had never been afraid of anything in training school. Now it felt as if his friend was scared of too many things to even resemble the person he had been before.

"It's not my place to tell you why kitten. Feilong shares these things with me because we have been close for years and trusts me not to spread them around. I can't betray Tao's trust in him by telling you his secrets."

He nodded "Of course. I'd make sure he eats them."  
It hurt to know there was a lot that Tao wasn't telling him but he knew well enough how much talking about some things hurt. He still was ridiculously thankful that Asami didn't press him about Kou's death. He suppressed the guilt at Kou's memory as fast as he could. He had more than enough on his plate already, he could go back to dealing with his guilt when he had settled into being Asami's pet.

"I'll let Feilong know."  
Aki carefully wrapped up his chocolate. 

"You can eat it, if you want to, Aki. You could just earn yourself more tonight." The teasing was back and Akihito wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He was trapped in this cell for the rest of the night and there was so much Asami could come up with. He honestly wasn't sure how much he could handle on top of the shower the man already expected. 

"What do you want?" He gave an undignified squawk, as he was suddenly lifted from the chair and pulled onto Asami's lap.  
"You get bratty when you're nervous, kitten."

Asami allowed him a few moments to calm down, by just holding him tight. Bratty... Asami had told him what being a brat would mean.  
"If... if I felt like being bratty tonight, what would you do?" He didn't even try to hide the nervous tremor in his voice.

For a moment, the man just studied his face. Then a kiss was pressed to his forehead and he was pulled against his owner's warm chest.  
"You deal with stress by being a brat." That definitely wasn't a question, but it was still an invitation for him to elaborate.

Aki nodded. "I can't run and I can't fight in here. I have to do something, you know?"  
Another kiss landed on his forehead. "As long as you understand what happens when you are a brat, feel free to indulge, Akihito."  
Finally, he dared to search Asami's gaze again "What would you do? If I wanted to tonight, I mean."  
Intense eyes focused on him, the comforting, teasing glint was back in full force. "I'd pull down your pants and spank you like a naughty boy."  
"You'd WHAT?"  
"You heard me. I'd spank your pretty ass until you are a very sorry kitten. And then I'd hold you until you're calm enough to apologize to me."

"You'd hit me?" Akihito still couldn't believe it. Asami had never threatened him with violence, where was this coming from all of a sudden? And why the teasing, what on earth was sexy about being hit?

"You have never been spanked before, have you?" And Asami was still teasing him!  
"No! And I don't want to either!"  
"Too bad you don't make the rules here." His struggles to get off the man's lap were thwarted with a gentle hand around his neck.  
"Do you really think I'd hurt you?"

That made his racing thoughts stop short. Asami had never hurt him before. "I... Spanking hurts."  
His whine ended with a dry peck on his lips. "Does it hurt when I play with your chest, kitten?"  
Immediately, Akihito blushed a bright pink. "Yes...but you always make it good." Very good even. Just talking about it made his nipples itch for attention.  
The bastard's smirk widened as if his thoughts were written over his face. When Asami's free hand moved down to his chest to give a teasing flick, he was pretty sure they were.  
"What makes you think a spanking couldn't make you crave my touch just as much, Akihito?"  
Aki began to fiddle with his overall; he was so, so screwed. There was no way he was getting out of this without a smarting butt.  
"You said you'd spank me if I was bratty. If it's a punishment, I'm not supposed to enjoy it, right?"  
To his surprise, the hand on his throat let go, only for the arm to wrap around his waist.  
"You are allowed to be a brat when we're alone, pet. It would be cruel to give you serious punishments for something I encourage."  
True. But "If you want me to be bratty, why do you punish me at all?"  
"Because I enjoy it. It's how I play, pet. I like torturing delicious little brats."

He did. Asami enjoyed making him suffer, though he had always made sure to never cause him any serious injury or fear.  
"Being bratty can be a way to ask for that, kitten, consciously or unconsciously. If you're stressed out, a bit of pain can help you to get out of your head for a while." 

Oh, Gods, not thinking sounded divine. 

"I'm not sure how getting hit could be fun for me." The glint in Asami's eyes showed that the man knew he had won. Of course, he had.  
"Let me show you, Aki. If you lay down on my lap like a good boy, I won't even make you beg too much." The gentle, teasing tone already did delicious things to his belly... he should just give up his protests and get it over with already.  
Still, he couldn't let the man win so easily "What if I don't like it, though?"

"You tell me if there is a problem."  
He was manhandled off Asami's lap and onto his feet, only to be grabbed by his hair a second later. The deliciously threatening voice was whispering in his ear before he was given a gentle push towards the bed "But you will like it, pet. So much."


	9. Taken down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi darling readers!
> 
> I apologize for the long wait. Work was a lot D:
> 
> Also, I need your help with a decision.  
> In prison, someone like Aki would often be subjected to feminization, to some degree.  
> I've been pretty tame on that front (apart from using slut or bitch) so far because I wasn't sure if it fits their dynamic well and how you, dear readers, would react to that.  
> For me, there's no question that Asami is quite happy that Aki is indeed male. However, he enjoys taunting him with how much he enjoys what Asami does to him in canon, so humiliation is definitely something Asami likes to do.  
> In my fic, he is pretty nice about Aki liking what he does because he tries to respect that Aki genuinely has no choice but to deal with it.
> 
> So my question is: how would you feel about Asami using more words like pussy, cunt or clit?  
> I'm kind of drawn on that decision because canon-Asami probably wouldn't say that to canon-Akihito yet it is appropriate for the setting I chose to put them in.  
> Please let me know your thoughts, I've been really struggling with this D:
> 
> Enjoy and have a good start to the new year!

Asami sat down on the bed, as his hand moved to his waist.  
"Will you be a good boy and lose your overall for me?"

The 'good boy' made Aki flush even darker. Figures that prison of all places would be the place to teach him to follow orders. Apparently, the judicial system was doing its job, just not in a way it intended to...  
Forced recitation of rules and laws hadn't been anywhere near this effective at making him "respect" authority. Though officials probably wouldn't call Asami an authority, no matter how important the man might be in his life.

He would be naked in the shower with his owner next morning, it was high time he got over his anxiety. He had to do this or he would fail miserably at securing his deal with the man- and that was not an option. After taking a deep breath, he started to open the buttons piece by piece.  
"That's it. Take your time. When you get too nervous, just come closer and I'll help you." Help him... The hand on his waist stroked up and down. 

When he managed to push the overall to his hips, he hesitated. This was how far they had gone before.

A short glance at Asami's amused eyes steeled his resolve and he pushed it down the rest of the way. He kicked his shoes off in favor of worrying about those eyes on his nearly naked body.  
He could do this.  
Squaring his jaw, he pulled down his boxer shorts and kicked them to the side.

He jumped when Asami's big hand came to lay on his hip. This man was like a furnace, the warmth of the hand against his skin seemed to chase away the chill that he had just started to feel.

"Such a pretty boy." Aki very nearly squirmed at the lascivious once-over he received. The hand on his hip squeezed reassuringly, then Asami gifted him one of his rare, gentle smiles. "Come sit down on my lap and I'll help you calm down a bit." 

On stiff legs, Aki took the three steps until he reached the man's lap. He gingerly sat down on one of his legs and ducked his head.  
He was naked in his owner's lap... was that some sort of milestone in the life of a prison bitch?

The chuckle he heard just prompted another blush to rise on his cheeks. He only noticed that his brows had drawn together in nervous worry when a peck smoothed them out again.  
"My poor kitten. Give me one of your delicious kisses and I'll make you like it." The rumbling purr sent reassuring heat down Aki's spine. Asami would make this good. He didn't know how yet, but he would somehow manage to leave him weak and boneless with pleasure at the end.  
And a red butt...

He raised his head to nibble at Asami's lips. The intended short kiss turned into a long make-out session. His nibbles had immediately been answered by a hearty bite to his own lips. As soon as he opened his mouth to complain, a warm tongue entered his mouth and effectively kept him from speaking for the next five minutes.  
At the same time, both hands started to roam over his body. One hand squeezed the back of his neck, prompting an instinctive tightening of Aki's back muscles. When they released their tensions seconds later, most of the anxiety followed the tension out of his body.  
The second hand came to lay his hip and drew gentle circles until the last of the tension rescinded.  
"You're doing so well, Akihito. All pliant and obedient for me."  
Before Aki could muster outrage at the comment, the voice was already back, whispering in his ear "Maybe I should pet my kitten for being so good. What do you think, Aki?"

The angry reply he tried to get out died in his throat the second the touch registered in his brain. His hands balled into fists, grabbing Asami's overall. He whimpered when the touch returned.  
Fuck.

The bastard had stealthily moved the hand from his neck to his groin... and it was petting him. One long finger drew barely there lines up and down his sex and it didn't stop. Not until it got a breathless whine out of him.  
Then it stopped the up and down, only to move on to his tip. It drew tender circles, dipped into the slit just to return to the maddening circling motion.  
"Do you want more cuddling, pet?" The caresses left him so weak that he couldn't do more than send him a disgruntled glower.  
Of course, he received a swift bite to his earlobe for his effort.  
Again, the finger dipped into his slit. Gods, Asami hadn't touched him like this before!

"Please?"  
That got him two fingers. "Please what, Aki?" The hunger in the man's voice caused another whimper.  
"Please..." Another up and down motion cut him off. "Please pet me more, Asami-sama."  
"Look at me, pet." Aki complied at once. He was nearly giddy- would Asami really stroke his cock?  
Immediately, he was pinned by hungry golden eyes. Then a whole, warm hand wrapped around his sex and started to move.

It took every ounce of will Aki could muster to keep looking at his owner. Asami might be pleasuring him, yet there he was, feeling as if he would be eaten alive any moment now. He struggled to keep his eyes open when his foreskin was pulled back and a finger drew a circle around his weeping slit once more. "Good boy. Keep looking at me." The hungry, husky rumble made Aki want to thrust into the warm hand. An aborted motion of his hips brought a devilish smile to Asami's lips. "Do you want to fuck my hand, kitten? Do you want to beg me to let you come like this?" 

No! Aki didn't want to beg! But... the delicious heat of embarrassment only burned hotter at the thought.  
"Please, Asami-sama?" Gods, the hand started moving faster, giving him just the pressure he needed!  
"Please let me come, Asami-sama? Please?"  
A bit to his neck very nearly set him off. "You think I'll let you come just like that, pet? You undress for me, sit on my lap and I just get you off for looking pretty?" Oh oh.  
The hand slowed down. "Please, Asami-sama! Please!"  
"Such a good little bitch." And then, the hand pulled away entirely.  
"If you don't come during the spanking, I'll make you come later. Get over my knee."

Dazed, it took Aki a good minute to get his body to cooperate. When he lowered himself over Asami's legs, he was praying not to come as soon as the warm legs touched his skin.  
He squirmed and tried to breathe through the initial contact, yet somehow managed to hold himself back. It would be so easy to thrust against his owner's leg. Just two, three thrusts against the hard muscle below him and he would come all over the overall...

"Don't." Aki froze.  
His hips were lifted up and he was repositioned to the man's liking. Thanks to the bedding below them, he was relatively comfortable.

"Spread your legs a bit more, kitten."  
With slight reluctance, Aki complied. At least Asami couldn't see his face while doing it, hidden against the covers of the bed as it was.  
"Good boy." His legs were pulled apart a little further when a big hand wrapped around his thigh. "All spread out and relaxed for me."  
The hand on his thigh started kneading the muscle, trying to prevent him from getting nervous again. "You know why I want your legs so far apart, pet?"  
The sinful voice was back to the rumbling purr that made him want to squirm all over the man's lap. Want to, however, he didn't. He was acutely aware of all the sensitive body parts exposed to the man. Specifically, the hand that would spank him in a minute...

Aki gathered his courage for a shaky reply "So you can s... spank me better?"  
"Smart pet. That's one reason. But there are two more." Aki flinched when the other hand descended on his lower back, immediately starting a calming massage close to his tailbone.  
"You're right, Akihito. I can spank you better when you can't clench your muscles. You feel it more with your legs spread like this."  
Oh, great. Before he could remark just how wonderful that sounded, Asami started talking again.  
"You are also giving me a really nice view, kitten. All these pretty places open and exposed, just for me." Even biting his lips couldn't prevent a whimper from slipping out, when a long finger lazily stroked his exposed balls. It drew over his taint, up between his cheeks, circled his hole, only to leave his lower body altogether and ruffle his hair. "And easy access to play with you." 

Play?

"Thought you wanted to spank me, not play with me." It came out more breathless than intended.  
He received scratches on his scalp and more massages. As soon as he pushed into the hand in his hair, he heard a low chuckle.  
"Spanking is playing, pet. Even if you're a naughty kitten. Want me to show you?"  
Aki gave a shy nod. Asami had promised that he would listen if he didn't like it.

He startled at a light, noisy smack.  
Immediately, the minute sting was rubbed away by a gentle hand.

That didn't hurt. At all.  
Would the whole thing just be a mock-spanking? Just an excuse for Asami to touch him?

"Does that hurt, pet?"  
"No." It hadn't been more than a light slap. More noise than pain, really.  
"Good. That's all you're going to get, kitten until you squirm so much that I need to give you more. Delicious little slaps to warm you up and get a pretty blush on those cheeks."

Aki buried his face in the covers. Asami was doing it again. He didn't even need to start spanking him, just the pictures he created in his head were nearly enough to make him squirm.  
There could be no redness without a little pain. He took a shuddering breath: No mock-spanking then?  
Still, the gentle way his owner used to ease him into the spanking made him wonder if there even was any way to steal himself before it became painful.  
How could he try to be unaffected, when this bastard went from talking him into hardness to sweet-talking him all the time? 

Then, the first slap came, quickly followed by more. They were spread evenly all over his butt and he could already feel the warmth Asami had mentioned.  
Aki jumped a few times, startling at the sounds of flesh hitting flesh. Each and every time, he received gentle scratches to his scalp and sweet, dirty words.  
Slap after slap, caress after caress, it all got jumbled together. The heat in his cheeks was rising and so was his confusion. Was a bit of pain so bad, if it brought him so much soothing?

Asami stopped once again to massage the inside of his left thigh. Higher and higher, until he reached the place where this thigh met his butt.  
"That's good, Aki. You're already blushing so prettily for me."  
Aki jumped at a slightly harder spank to his sit spot, only to melt into another massage the very next moment. His whole butt and the top of his thighs felt slightly warm now. It was an exciting, slightly stingy feeling, that left him confused and with a weird sort of desire for more.

A few slaps more and the warmth spread even further. Embarrassed, Aki started to squirm.  
Pressing back into Asami's hand earned him a low chuckle and a gentle squeeze on the back of his neck. "A good spanking stimulates circulation, kitten. Feel how hard you are on my leg?"

A hard, quick slap connected with his thigh and forced him into bliss when it pressed him against the man's leg.  
Aki couldn't hold back his moan any longer: oh, did he feel it! He wanted to rub against it but- Gods, Asami would hit him more, if he did, and more hits would make him want to get off even worse and-

"All that blood and the sensitivity will make you come so hard, Aki. You'll be so grateful I didn't let you come before."

Before he could attempt any kind of answer, the hand took another break from dishing out hits. It cupped his balls, gently moving them until his squirming escalated into outright humping Asami's legs.  
Just one thrust against his owner's leg and hard slaps started to rain down on his butt.  
"Naughty boy." A particularly hard slap had Aki trying to slide forward, away from the pain, only to drag his aching cock against the warm leg again. Then, the other hand came down on the small of his back, holding him down.  
More hits followed. It hurt! Oh, Gods, did it hurt!  
Every time he tried to move away, the pain was pierced by a bolt of pleasure, leaving Aki desperately helpless.  
If he moved forward, Asami would hit him. But it dragged his cock against his thigh and he was so close to coming... Pain and pleasure were blending together and he didn't know which he wanted more anymore.  
Just ten more spanks and hot tears streamed down his face. His senses were completely overloaded and he didn't know if it was good or bad.  
He didn't know anything. 

Abruptly, the onslaught stopped.  
Instead, two gentle, wet fingers started circling his exposed hole. "Asami-sama?" Aki whimpered at the tender ministrations of the other hand on his back.  
"Hush. Relax, pet. You're doing so well. You've been spanked enough, kitten."

The fingers were so gentle, only exerting light pressure, that he found himself relaxing in the man's lap. His whole pelvic area seemed to be on fire, thanks to the spanking.  
His whole body hummed with stimulation, still overloading his senses, despite the gentle touches he was receiving.

Then, they suddenly zeroed in on one sensation: the tip of a finger was penetrating him. The second finger remained outside of his body, stroking the stretched rim with barely there motions.  
"Does that hurt, Aki?" The calm interest in Asami's voice made him want to cuddle even closer. "No." "You sound unsure, pet." Did he? Aki wasn't sure about anything right now. "Doesn't hurt." He furrowed his brow in concentration. "Can I have a kiss, please?" The moment of silence that followed left Aki craving even more reassurance. How did spankings bring out that much insecurity in him?

His nervous thoughts were cut short when his hair was gripped in a big hand and his head was pulled up. A genuine sound of pain escaped him, just as he was pulled up enough to need his arms to support his weight.  
He was as weak as a literal kitten. Trying to put weight on his arms would be as successful as trying to arm wrestle Suoh.  
Immediately, the hand left his hair and moved to support his chest. 

"You've had enough, kitten."  
The other hand moved to his hip and turned him around quickly enough to make his head spin. In just a few motions, he was manhandled to sit on Asami's lap again.  
His head was cradled against the man's shoulder and his free hand was stroking up and down his back.  
"Want your kiss?" A small smile spread on Aki's lips. Yes, he did. He raised his head, wordlessly asking for it. Just as he had hoped, he was kissed within an inch of his life, leaving his lips tingling deliciously. Just like his butt.  
"Thank you, Asami-sama." Everything still felt floaty, but also safe and strangely right. And his arousal was slowly coming back to the forefront of his mind again...

"May I come now, Asami-sama?"  
The rumbling growl sent delicious tingles down his spine. "You may, Aki. You were such a good pet for me."  
Aki was pulled flush against the broad chest once more. Feeling two warm hands descend on his butt wasn't scary anymore. Especially, when they started to rub the remaining sting away.  
"How would you like to come, pet? Do you want to rub against my leg again?"  
"Nuh-uh." He shook his head, peeking up towards the darkened eyes. "Want your hand again. Please?"

"Greedy thing." His eyes flickered down when he heard the popping sound of press buttons being pulled open. They remained glued to the hand that had opened the last two buttons of Asami's overall. It reached inside and pulled out the man's cock through his underwear.  
A kiss was pressed against his brow "My hand is big enough to get the both of us off, kitten. Is that alright?"  
Feeling Asami's hand on his hard cock again was tempting enough to chase any anxiety at the sight of the gigantic thing away. Asami would put that into his body, but not tonight.

"'s okay." As long as he got off...while moving as little as possible.  
He was completely exhausted.  
Another kiss on his brow followed then the warm, hard penis of his owner was pressed against his. Aki bit off a mewl at the sight.  
Asami's large hand came back into view, glistening with some kind of gel. It wrapped around both of them with ease, to give them one long, hard stroke.

It wouldn't have taken long before, yet feeling the other's erection against his own pushed him even closer.  
It was warm, hards and silky and he could feel it getting harder with every stroke.

Soon enough, pre-cum started to dribble down from the large cock. Seeing Asami's hand caress the tip of his penis only to move on the tip of his own prompted more aborted thrusts from him. He wanted to feel it against himself, all of it. From the root to the very tip.  
Finally, he managed a full thrust, sliding his cock up against Asami's. A keen flew out of his mouth when their heads touched. He had never felt anything like it. It was wet and soft and hard and-

"Are you going to come, kitten?"  
The heated growl forced his eyes back to the man's face again. "Are you going to come rubbing your pretty little dick against mine?"  
"Yes." Little thrusts, tip to tip, were edging him closer and closer, the promised hand was long forgotten.  
"You know what's going to happen if you keep going, don't you?" Asami's knuckles gently bumped into his balls, his hand still moving on his own cock. He jolted, grinding forward just a little bit harder. Just enough to edge himself further.  
"I'm going to come all over you, pet. Do you want that?"  
He whimpered at the thought. He could see it in his mind's eye! His owner would shoot his come all over his groin.  
"You'll be a filthy boy, Akihito. My kitten with a red ass and come all over his dick."

Damn Asami and his dirty mouth. Aki's gaze flickered up, caught dark eyes, still fixed on his face and dropped down again.  
He couldn't keep his eyes off the tips of their cocks grinding against each other; he couldn't believe how good it felt.

The last thought was forced from his head- the hand was back!  
One long, hard pull and it was over.  
A breathless groan forced itself from between his lips, only to be followed by pitiful whimpers when Asami just didn't stop.

His come was rubbed back into his own skin, as the man continued to pleasure himself.  
Aki's vision was close to whiting-out when his owner finally came. Come was spread all over his groin, then the hand blessedly stopped. 

For a moment, he couldn't pull his eyes away from the mess Asami had made of him. Fourteen days into being Asami's property and he got to feel his come on his skin for the first time.  
A peek up at his owner's face told him just how pleased he was with him. He had done well.  
Asami had upheld his promises and he was finally starting to feel like he upheld his part of their deal. He had pleased his man and even got an orgasm for it. 

"Thinking hard, kitten?"  
Aki was too mellow to bristle at the teasing voice. "You came on me."  
"I did." Asami pulled him into a short kiss. "And you enjoyed it. Didn't you, pet?"  
The flush on his cheeks was apparently enough of an answer for once. "A good spanking and a load of come and my brat turns into a sweet kitten." Aki shivered at the feral grin he caught out of the corner of his eye. Asami didn't want to go again, did he?  
"We don't have condoms here, Aki. You know what will happen when I fuck you, don't you?"  
Of course, he did. He just avoided thinking about it.  
"What if I get sick?" Genuine worry coaxed him into holding his owner's gaze again.  
"I've been tested before I came here, kitten. And I haven't fucked anyone since." Akihito wanted to relax at that, he really did. But he couldn't. Asami could tell him whatever he liked, he had no chance to verify anything.  
Apparently, his thoughts showed on his face again, as the heated gaze softened slightly. "I promised to keep you safe, and I will, pet."  
He had no other choice but to believe it. If Asami got him sick, Asami got him sick. If he was indeed healthy, and monogamous, at least for his sentence, he'd be safe. Without Asami, he would probably already have contracted something.  
Biting his lip, he nodded. He'd just have to believe it. Worrying wouldn't help or prevent anything.

"Couldn't these assholes at least give us condoms, if they don't mind when we get turned into pets?" He had tried for an aggravated whine, which came out as a sulky murmur instead. The bastard had started to pet him again.  
Asami's dark laugh sent a delicious shudder down his spine, promptly chased away by the surprisingly cutting sarcasm in his voice "They can't have us having fun, Akihito. Prisoners shouldn't fuck anyone while incarcerated, and they will pretend we don't until hell freezes over."  
And the ones who couldn't fight back paid the prize...  
"All you can get is an enema kit from the infirmary." Wait, what?

"How would that h-"  
A long finger came to lay on his lips. "Believe me, Akihito, you don't want me to explain that right now."  
"Why-" This time, a hard kiss silenced him.  
"Do you really want me to explain why putting anything in your ass would be good for you, kitten? Right now?" Said ass was squeezed as if to underline what Asami was talking about.  
Aki flushed. Probably not. Not if just talking about explaining it caused the flaccid cock next to his own to twitch like this...  
"Okay." He wasn't even sure if he wanted him to explain it later, though. Sure, he probably should be grateful that Asami was ready to explain things to him instead of just throwing them at him, however... knowing what was happening and why didn't really make them any easier. 

Desperately looking for a different topic of conversation, Aki clung to the first one that came to mind. "Um... where do I sleep tonight?"  
"In my bed, pet. Or did you plan to camp in the shower?"  
Well...

"You'll sleep in my bed, Akihito." A hard, short peck landed on his mouth. "If I catch you sneaking out, I'll find a way to tie you to the bed. So don't tempt me, kitten."


	10. On the ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my dears!
> 
> Thank you so much for your opinions and answers to my question. You really helped me out a lot.  
> I have a fairly good idea on how I'll handle this little problem now.
> 
> Now, about the long wait: my bosses offered to give me the opportunity to finish my apprenticeship 8 months early because of good performance.  
> I'm so excited about this. But at the same time, knowing that my interim examination is coming up in less than a month and the final exam in little more than eight months is kind of daunting.  
> As excited as I am about this, the anxiety blocked my writing/creativity somewhat. (Also, I've been cramming for my interim exam like crazy <.<) I hope I'll be able to get on a regular schedule soon :)
> 
> So, I hope this chapter is okay, despite my struggle to write it ;)
> 
> Enjoy your week, darlings!

The next morning found Aki in a strangely content mood. He was warm, he felt safe and still quite sated from the night before. He had never felt like this, not even before his life had gone horrifically downhill.  
That feeling lasted until he remembered what he had promised to do with Asami that morning.  
He had been naked on the man's lap the night before but being completely naked together still felt like a big step. A big step to keep Yayoi safe.  
He could do this. He had to.

Trying to be as sneaky as possible, he turned away from the wall he was facing and onto his other side. Thanks to the sleepy contentment still coursing through his veins, he didn't startle at all, when he caught Asami's eyes.  
The golden eyes looked so bright that he wondered just how long the other had been awake already.  
"Breakfast has already been delivered." Aki's gaze landed on the table, where he found two tin trays waiting for them.  
"Why didn't you wake me?" His raspy morning voice prompted a quirk of a smile on the other's lips.  
"We are still in lock-down and you deserved your sleep after last night, kitten. You were very good."

He shuffled a little closer to the bigger body and raised his head to offer Asami a short kiss.  
"Very good indeed." The man pressed a peck of his own onto his lips in reward. Just before bed, his owner had let him know that he insisted on good morning and good night kisses when Aki slept in his cell.

Aki still couldn't believe that had happened, by the way. How on earth was the guard fine with him staying in Asami's cell?  
Then again, Asami seemed to be free to receive visitors from different wings at his leisure without anyone raising an eyebrow. 

"Are you ready to have breakfast, pet?" Long fingers carded through Aki's hair, snagging it slightly thanks to his rather unruly sleeping habits.  
Breakfast would be a good idea. He better got something into his stomach before his anxiety about the shared shower could ruin his appetite.  
"I could eat." His reply prompted Asami to get up and bring both their trays over to the bed. No tea for breakfast then?  
"We can have tea after the shower." Ah.  
"Good tea should be enjoyed, not hectically gulped down by nervous pets, scared of their own courage." Well, damn. Trust Asami to clock him right without even trying. 

"I don't waste tea!" Aki grabbed his tray with a petulant huff and deposited it on his legs. Still, he had already started shoveling Oyakodon in his mouth when he threw the other a disgruntled look "And why are we having breakfast first if you think I'm so scared?"  
"Because I don't want you running out of the shower claiming hunger, brat." At that, Aki finally managed a real glower.  
"I'm not going to run on you."  
"No." The nearly gentle laugh led him to search the man's gaze again. "But teasing you is a good way to make you want to prove me wrong."  
True. He couldn't resist Asami's baiting...  
"You really want that shower, huh?" He knew he was blushing again, yet there was nothing he could do about it.  
"I want you to earn your part of our deal, kitten." 

This was about more than Yayoi. Asami wanted him to have confidence in their agreements.  
It was weird to be so obviously and unapologetically manipulated.  
"You are grooming me." It was out of his mouth before his brain could catch up with his thoughts. 

"I am." Confidence, no remorse, no pity.  
"You are turning me out."  
"No. I'm domesticating you." Again, with the pet analogies...  
Aki hesitated for a second, however, the words wanted out. "Is it bad that I don't think you are a bad guy, anymore?"  
A warm hand ruffled his hair. "No, Akihito. I'm as I good as I can be, with you."

Shit.

"I'm trying to be good, too. For you." His breakfast tray was lifted off his legs and he was pulled against Asami's broad chest.  
"I know, kitten. And you are doing a very good job."

"Thank you." Aki only hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak his mind. "It's... I know you are manipulating me. And I react to it. It's not..."  
Gods, how was he supposed to put that?  
He chanced a look at Asami's face and was caught by an intense, unexpectedly benevolent look. "It's the kind of bad you are strong enough to deal with."  
Kind of. "It's not bad." It wasn't, not in comparison to-  
"Akihito. We are in prison and I'm using your desperate situation for my personal gain. I'm trying to be nice about it, but that's the only positive part of this."  
"But you"- A long finger was put to his lips to silence him.  
"I want you safe with me, not deluding yourself, Akihito." 

"Isn't manipulating me a way of deluding me?" This morning turned out way more confusing than expected.  
"No." The sudden, stern inflection in Asami's voice was startling. "I'm manipulating you to turn you into my perfect pet. I'm honest about that. Deluding you would be to pretend to woo you like a lover. To make you believe that I have nothing but self-less motives. Don't ever think that, Akihito."  
He was still held firmly against Asami's chest. Despite the firm reprimand, the man's hold remained gentle and reassuring.  
"You are my pet. I take all the freedom you have in here away and replace it with another cage. Making that cage comfortable is not "good", kitten. It's trying to be humane, make it bearable for you."

Aki bit his lips. "Do you really mind it that much if I don't think you're a total asshole?"  
That got him a bark of laughter. "No, but never forget that you are still in a shitty situation."  
Good thing that Asami wasn't a motivational coach, he'd probably send people home crying.

Following an impulse, Aki burrowed his face against his owner's shoulder. "Shitty or not. I trust you to keep me safe - I don't care if you're an asshole sometimes - just don't make me regret that. Please."  
"I won't." The tightening of Asami's arm around his shoulders felt right. Just the amount of possessiveness and strength he needed right then. "You will hate me sometimes but I will keep you safe."  
"'kay." Fuck, he was way more mellow this morning that he would usually allow himself to be. "Asami?"  
"Kitten?" The subtle teasing was back.  
"You wanna have your shower now?"

The man's slight pause was extremely satisfying. He would prove just how much courage he had!  
"Do you want to go first or do you want to wait until I call you?"  
Hm... "I'll go first." Waiting around alone in the cell while Asami started their shower would give him too much time to overthink things. The thought nearly made him laugh: over-thinking had never been a problem for him, rather the opposite.  
His pondering if he should try and climb over the other's body was cut short, as he was simply grabbed by two big hands and lifted up in the air. Seconds later, he was deposited on his feet.  
A light smack to his butt sent him on his way with a renewed blush on his face. It was still a little sensitive after last nights activities...

He didn't look back, on his way to the bathroom. He needed all the courage he could muster.  
Once the door closed behind him, he took a deep breath. Asami had promised that he wouldn't do anything they hadn't done before.  
He started to strip with methodic movements and put them to the side. After taking a quick leak, he started the shower.  
The bastard even had pleasantly warm water...

For a moment, he let the warm water fall on his body. It would be so easy to pretend that he would stay alone under the spray, though it probably wouldn't help anything.  
There was no way he could keep his owner out of his own shower... or off his body. And trying wasn't even in his best interest if he was honest.  
"Asami-sama?" He hoped that his voice carried over the sounds of the water.

Half a minute passed, then he could hear the door open. He carefully kept his back to the door, determined not to look at the man until he was under the shower himself.  
His spine stiffened involuntarily when he felt a warm presence close to his back. Then, an unexpected, gentle touch to the small of his back prompted a slight shiver.  
"Relax, kitten." The hand started a gentle up and down motion before it moved over to his side and turned him around.  
The intense, golden eyes pinned him in place more effectively than even that strong hand could. He was so, so- 

"Fuck." He tried to keep his eyes on Asami's face but thanks to their height difference, he got a pretty good look at that whole, incredible torso too.  
Asami's neutral expression turned predatory. "You like what you see, kitten?"  
Aki bit back a whimper, when cold tiles touched his back. He was slowly but surely backed into a corner, by nothing but the power of that gaze.  
With an amused glance, his owner stepped back into the middle of the shower and grabbed a bottle of shower gel.  
Incredously, Aki watched as Asami started to soap himself up. The intense eyes remained fixed on his own, yet the hands remained firmly on his own body. 

Aki watched Asami spread the foam over his chest and stomach. When he moved on to his arms, Aki couldn't stop himself anymore. "Don't you want to touch me?"  
Wasn't that the whole point of their deal? 

"Not while you look like a scared little rabbit, pet." The smirk riled him. Asami didn't even try to sound compassionate!  
Immediately, he bristled. "Of course, I'm scared, you"-  
He cut himself off, at the steely glint flashing through Asami's eyes. No matter how rampant his emotions might be, he wasn't dumb enough to call Asami names again.  
"Good boy." Not reacting to the praise was surprisingly hard, even as anxious as he was.  
After a deep breath, he tried again. "I'm trying. I just..."  
What? What did he even want to say? 

Suddenly, he was caught between a cold wall and a warm, hard body.  
"You are doing well, Akihito. You are naked and you are in my shower, with me. All you need is to let me touch you, as you always do."  
Just like that, his rushing thoughts came to a screeching halt. 

A muscled thigh was pressed between his legs and against his groin, while both hands descended on his body.  
Asami's left hand came to lay on his hip, its counterpart started to stroke his face.  
Despite the verbal reassurance, it was hard to relax. A naked Asami was a lot to handle...  
"Looks like my kitten is nervous in a shower." The mounting, delicious pressure against Aki's groin had him bite back a whimper. "Why don't you come under that stream with me and let me make it better, hm?"  
As soon as he nodded, he was pulled back under the warm water by strong arms. A nervous shudder wracked his body when he was pulled flush against the langer man.

"You can always ask me to help you, pet." It wasn't more than a whisper, hard to hear over the sound of the shower. The deep voice sounded neutral, relaxed, lacking its previous heat.  
"But... this is my bargain, right?"  
A warm hand stroked up and down his back "And you are keeping it, Akihito. ."  
Asami started to speak right into his ear "You are letting me touch you. You are a very good, cooperative pet." 

Aki was sure his ears were burning.  
"Now, kitten, why don't we enjoy ourselves, hm?"  
The low purr successfully sent a little shiver of delicious heat into his belly. Perhaps he could just ignore Asami's nakedness and try to make the best of it?  
He took a deep breath and slung his arms around the man's neck. His hair stood on end, when a warm hand stroked up and down his back, to rest on his lower back. "You want to soap me up now, Aki? Start this nice and easy?"  
Nice and easy sounded really good. And soaping up this warm, gorgeous body in front of him did too....  
"Of course, I'm going to return the favor. Get you all warm and soapy and clean you up, for once."  
"'Kay." He obediently held out a hand, when one of Asami's reappeared in his line of side, holding the bottle of shower gel. For a second, he just held it in his hand, then big soapy hands started to spread suds down his back, prompting him into action.  
The skin of his owner's chest was slippery under his fingers, warm and soft. He could feel a solid, regular heartbeat against the palm of his hand. Concentrating on the solid thump-tha-thump finally helped him to relax. After spreading the suds all over the man's chest and upper stomach, he stopped fighting his impulse and pressed his ear to the warm skin to hear it too. 

Just when the final bit of tension left his body, there was a rolling sound, followed by a bang. Then, everything happened too fast for him to process. Between one beat and another, the heart under his ear accelerated and he was pushed into the far end of the shower, where he slipped and nearly fell on his face.  
Aki managed to scramble to a sitting position before the bathroom door was pushed open and guards in full combat gear rushed in.  
Now it was Aki's heart that was beating a mile a minute... 

***  


"2345-7642 step out of the shower, hands to your head."  
Asami was moving, stepping out of the shower as directed. Once he had been dragged out of the bathroom by two guards, the same man in combat gear addressed him.  
"Are you hurt 9678-4421?"  
Completely startled, Aki froze up.  
"Get up and put your hands to your head, 9678-4421. If you are hurt and can't comply let us know immediately."  
"S-sorry." The sudden spike of adrenaline finally made it through to his legs, helping him to unlock his cramped up muscles. "I'm complying."  
At a snail's pace, he made it out of the shower stall, only to be dragged off, just as Asami had been before him. 

Just outside of Asami's cell, he was handcuffed and pushed against a wall. He was dripping all over the floor but the guards seemed to have no regard for that. Or the fact that he was shaking with cold by now.  
"If you have anything in your cell, Asami, we will find it." The sharp voice immediately got Aki's attention, even if he didn't dare to seek out its source with his eyes. "If you're cooperative, I might not call the DA afterward to revoke your privileges."  
Aki had obviously missed the start of the one-sided conversation a guard was having with his owner.  
"I have no control over what Koji gets up to, Fuiji-san." The deep voice didn't sound the least bit concerned. "I thought to prevent suicide was one of your responsibilities."  
"5398-2110 did not break 15 bones on his own. And his little finger is missing, what do you think he did, huh? Cut it off after breaking his hand?"  
Now Asami sounded outright amused "The truly determined can achieve a lot. Now, Fuiji-san, are you seriously implying that I hid Koji's little finger in my cell?"  
Apparently, his taunting didn't only work on Akihito, if the sudden yelling was any indication. "You are the Yakuza here, Asami. Why don't you tell me, what you do with these fingers?"  
That prompted a snort. "Do I really have to call my lawyer to let him know about these outrageous claims you're making against me? I was never linked to organized crime, Fuiji-san." 

"Of course you weren't." The contempt in the guard's voice was on a scary level. "Nothing seems to stick to you. Or your Chinese friend, for that matter."  
"We are still here. And as far as we all know, Feilong and I have been nothing but exemplary convicts so far."  
Now it was the guard closest to Aki himself who started to laugh. "Yes, that's why your little pet here looked like someone was about to murder him when we came in."  
When Asami's inflectionless voice addressed him, Aki couldn't help but wish he was anywhere else. "Did I do anything to hurt you, when the guards were coming in, Akihito?"  
Aki needed a moment to work out a reply. He had been very happy to stay out of the conversation so far... "No, Asami-sama. I just slipped when I startled because of the noise."  
"Asami-sama, huh?" That was Fuiji's voice. And he sounded...disgusted.  
If Aki had dared to look over his shoulder, he would have seen Fuiji try and pin Asami with a mocking glare. Unfortunately for him, Asami didn't seem to mind standing buck naked in a hallway or being glared at... "Akihito is a polite boy."

"I bet." Great, that was the guard next to him again. "And here I thought his sentence was adjusted to give him two more years to learn to respect authority..."  
For some reason, the remark stung. He always had had a problem with rushing into things while abandoning all rational thought, not so much with respecting authority.  
"He responds very well to my methods." The cool undertone in the deep voice made Aki want to shrink in on himself, but pinned as he was, there was no hope of moving.

"Perhaps we should get your boy alone for a few hours and see if he has anything to say about your methods to instill respect..." Akihito was sure he was about to die from a heart attack. Killed by too much embarrassment, naked and dripping wet in a prison hallway.  
Also, if Akihito had learned one thing in his life, it was that snitches got themselves beaten up or worse. No matter what those guards would offer to him, he was not about to spill anything on Asami.  
"You could do that." Now the rumbling baritone sounded plain amused. "I'm sure that dear Akihito has not a single negative thing to say about me." 

***

Thankfully, they were interrupted before the guards could offer to make good on their threat."Fuiji-san, the cell is clean." The guards that had searched their cell were returning to the hallway.  
A muffled curse sounded, then something flew through the doorway. "Get Asami and his pet back into the cell and lock them up."  
He was grabbed and shoved back into the cell, his clothes thrown in behind him. Seconds later, a naked Asami appeared behind him and the door rolled shut with a bang.

All around them was chaos.  
The bed was stripped, the linens strewn all over the floor. The tea was dumped on the kitchen counter with the last of his chocolate. Playing cards were spread out on the table, books and various of Asami's belongings lay all over the floor.

"Clean up this mess." Asami had collected his clothes and started to put them back on.  
"Can I"- Aki stopped talking as soon as he noticed his owners stiff posture. Asami was not pleased. He looked absolutely pissed, as far as he could tell, looking at his stiff back and a twitching neck muscle.  
With measured steps, the man stepped up to the door, intently focussed. At first, he seemed to listen, then he closed up his overall and gave the door two cautious knocks.  
When two answering knocks came, Asami threw him a cool glance "I told you to do something, didn't I?"  
A gulp of air was all Akihito allowed himself, before attacking the mess with a vengeance. So, no asking to get dressed then. He had seen a no-nonsense businessman, a pervert, and an indulgent owner so far, but right now, he encountered an entirely, intimidating new side of the other man and he wasn't sure how to handle it.

Asami had started knocking the door in seemingly random patterns, occasionally stopping to listen to answering knocks.  
He had no idea who he was communicating with or why and he probably shouldn't even think about it. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder- just what kind of role had Asami played in Koji's death?

***

"Are lock-downs usually this long?"  
Come afternoon, Aki was getting antsy. Asami was still in a weird, distanced mood. The man hadn't even attempted to touch him, since his nearly twenty minutes long conversation via knocking. He wasn't used to being ignored.  
The man didn't even look up from his book. "Koji is dead. They'll take as much time as they want to pretend they are doing something about it."  
Koji. 

The casual, dismissive way Asami was talking about he investigation sent a chill down his spine. Koji had been an asshole, sure, but talking about someone being brutally murdered that casually left a foul taste in his mouth.  
"Do you know who did it?"  
"He was a nuisance to many. Someone has finally taken care of that."  
Absolutely no inflection.  
"Did you"-  
"Don't concern yourself with things that are none of your business, pet."  
For the first time in a few days, the 'pet' stung. This was a reprimand and a firm one at that, no matter how calm it was delivered.  
"But"-  
A calm, cold stab of a glance froze the words in his mouth. Suddenly, all that space between them felt insurmountable. As if he was drifting away and had nothing to hold onto.

Sensing the danger further questions would pose, Aki remained rooted to the spot next to the window.  
"It's not your business, pet."  
Each word was enunciated intently and sent a shiver of an entirely different kind down his spine.  
"I'm sorry." His voice was just above a whisper.  
"Good, then come out of your corner and make me some tea."

'Make me some tea' Aki forced his limbs to cooperate. He was clearly not invited to share the tea he would be making.  
"I'm sorry." He didn't know why he tried again, but not being allowed to share tea with Asami felt like a punishment.  
"Noted. Now do what I tell you, Akihito." 

With jerky moves, he managed the few steps towards the sink and grabbed the water kettle.  
Not being allowed to drink tea was probably the mildest punishment someone in his position could suffer. It was not his place to question Asami when he was told not to. His owner would decide what he shared with him and he could be lucky that it was more than violence and sex he didn't want to partake in.  
He let out a frustrated sigh, when getting the water to boiling point seemed to take excruciatingly long.  
"Pet, come here."  
Asami didn't sound angry. He sounded neutral, a slight bit exasperated maybe-

Aki started moving before he could be prompted again. Now was not a good time to make his owner wait.  
Once he made it to the chair the man was sitting on, he kept his gaze firmly on the floor.  
"Look at me." Immediately, he forced his gaze up to the man's sharp jaw-line.  
"I'm denying you a treat you have gotten used to. If you have something to say about that, I suggest you choose your words wisely."  
Wait- "I'm not- I'm just..."  
"I tell you to do something, you do it. Don't mull it over in your head and make yourself anxious."  
Anxious, that was putting it mildly. "I didn't mean to"- Again, Asami's smooth baritone cut him off "If I had anyone over right now, how would they interpret you huffing and stalling while doing your job, hm?"  
Defiance. They would most likely interpret it as defiance. Shit.

Before Aki managed to put down some kind of answer, a strong arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him against his owner's side. Hiding his face in the crook of Asami's neck looked very appealing right now, but considering the delicate situation he was in at the moment, he didn't dare to try.  
"I can protect you because I'm a bad, scary man, kitten. I can't keep all of that from you. And I won't. You want to be my pet, you deal with it. If you can't, tell me and we'll find you a new owner."  
A hot flash of panic went through Aki's body at that thought. He couldn't lose Asami. He just couldn't!  
"Please, I didn't mean to stall. I'm just"-  
If he would have dared to look up, he would have seen an amused sparkle in the golden eyes. "Shocked by the reality that I'm not the good guy you see me as. Should have listened to me this morning." His chin was grabbed and angled up, forcing him to face the startling contrast between the expressionless face and the amusedly sparkling eyes. 

"What did I tell you to use your pretty little head for, pet?"  
For a second, Aki's throat closed up. "For school and to please you."  
Predictably, that got him a smirk. "And is making yourself anxious by worrying about my business and questioning my decisions on treats a part of that?"  
"No." It wasn't more than a whisper. Figures that over-thinking would become a problem now, for the first time in his life. He had to get out of here in one piece, dammit.  
"Good. And what are you supposed to do if something gets too much for you?"  
Fuck. They had talked about this. Why was he failing so hard today?  
"I'm supposed to tell you."  
"That's right. And what could you have told me after you started to get anxious, Akihito?"  
That brought him up short. What could he possibly have said?

"I don't know." How would telling his owner that he was freaking out have helped? He still would have been freaking out.  
He watched the handsome face go from expressionless but amused to expressionless and pissed. "Then I suggest you make that tea and think long and hard about what you could have said. I don't want to hear anything from you until you can give me an answer." 

Immediately, the arm that had been reassuringly slung around him pushed him towards the kitchenette. It left him feeling unreasonably cold for the warm cell he was in.  
While he tried to put the tea leaves into the pot without spillage, his thoughts raced. He knew what to say when Asami's touches became overwhelming. That was easy.  
'Please, Asami-sama, stop touching me.' Simple.  
What was he supposed to say? 'Please, Asami-sama, stop being scary'? How was that supposed to work? 

With shaky hands, he took the teapot and a cup over to the table his owner was sitting at. He managed to pour without incident and the offered cup was accepted with a nod.  
After about half a minute, a dispassionate gaze landed on his face. "You got something to say, pet?"  
It was a near thing, stopping himself from verbally responding, but he managed to shake his head no. And just like that, those golden eyes directed their gaze out the window and away from him.  
He was dismissed. 

Aki didn't know what to do. He really didn't.  
All he wanted was to say the right thing, to make Asami look at him again.  
What was he supposed to tell him?


	11. Pinned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, lovelies :)
> 
> Wow, this chapter was a ride D:  
> I don't know about other people's writing process but writing difficult emotional situations always kind of throws me. As they did in this chapter.  
> I kept writing and re-writing until I thought my brain would melt out of my ears XD
> 
> Hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend :D

With the dimming daylight, Aki's anxiety and worry increased exponentially. It was so late already yet he still didn't have an answer for Asami.  
As if on cue, the painful silence was broken "Still thinking, kitten?"  
The gentle pet name very nearly made him whimper. Maybe Asami wasn't as mad as he had thought.

"C- Can I still ask you for help, Asami-sama?" His shoulders were hunched, his eyes glued to the floor; he didn't dare to make eye contact. 

Aki very nearly jumped out of his skin, when his hand was clasped to pull him towards the sitting form of his owner. Then, strong hands maneuvered him down onto Asami's lap and cradled him, surprisingly tenderly, against his chest. When a kiss landed on the crown of his head, Aki was sure he had been transported to the twilight zone.  
"Good boy, Akihito." His hair was ruffled, too. What on earth- 

"That's all I expect from you. To tell me when you need help and to be honest about your feelings. I want to know if you don't like how I touch you and if I scare you."  
"Y-you just wanted me to tell you I'm scared?" That sounded way easier than anything that been going through his head...  
"Yes." Slowly but surely, he started to relax into the man's warm body. As hard as it was to admit it to himself, he had missed the security its touch represented by now. "I was annoyed by the situation, not you, pet. But it reduced my tolerance for ignoring the simple instructions I gave you."  
Aki bit his lip: they both knew that Asami didn't have to give him any instructions to make his life easier, seeing them ignored when he was already stressed probably didn't do anything to put his owner in a benevolent mood. "I'm sorry."  
"I know." A confusing brand of hopefulness rose in his belly, as an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him flush against the warm plain of Asami's chest. "And I know you will do better in the future." 

While Aki was busy tripping over his words, the smooth baritone playfully dropped its octave. "You have no idea how hard it was to ignore you like this, Aki. Shuffling around like this, pouting and worried, yet too obedient to put your clothes back on. Were you really that scared to think you've displeased me, pet?"  
He managed a shaky nod and was rewarded with a kiss on his forehead.  
"Cowed by a mere scolding, like a good little puppy."  
"'m not a puppy!" It sounded weak, even to his own ears. Was he allowed to talk back again?  
The rich laugh sent a delicious bolt of embarrassed relief through his body. If Asami was back to teasing, they were really okay.  
He was safe and naked and on his owner's lap.  
"No, you're my kitten. Hissing and spitting when you're cross, just to roll over and purr as soon as I put my hands on you."  
He could nearly feel the tension draining out of the body that held his. Asami truly had been stressed, even if he tried not to let it show. Seeing the man let go of his worries was worth a little embarrassment. "Didn't roll over for you." Aaaand he was blushing yet again.  
A teasing "Not yet" was whispered into his ear, then he was just held. They sat there for minutes until Aki had finally lost most of his nervous tension.

"You only wanted me to ask for help, earlier?"  
It was hard to believe that it could have been so easy...  
"Yes. You had two options, Aki. You could have told me that you're scared or you could have asked me for help."

Aki hesitated for a second, but ultimately couldn't hold back his thoughts. "It's... You were so cold after the guards let us back in here... it made me nervous. And then you got pissed when I asked things. And"- he subsided. How could he put this into words?  
"I couldn't believe that it could be so easy. I didn't believe that just telling you how scared I was would really help so I didn't... dare to try."  
The extremely focused gaze of the golden eyes prompted him to look up again. "You need to learn that you don't get to fight anymore, Akihito, especially not with me."  
Fight? Wait. "But I didn't fight you. I was scared!"  
"Yes. And instead of being a good little pet and letting me handle it, you kept it to yourself and talked back to me."  
His attempts to solicit more information from his owner had obviously been ill-received.  
"I was trying to make conversation. Make you talk to me again. And", Aki focussed on a spot on the wall, "I got scared that you were involved in the murder. After the stuff the guard said. And thinking of you like that scares me, so I tried to asks about it. But...you didn't say that you didn't have anything to do with it." 

"Why would I, pet?" Had it not been for the comforting scratches to his scalp, he would have worried about the dispassionate voice. "As long as I'm keeping you safe and stick to our deal, it doesn't matter."  
Gods, he didn't want to argue with Asami. Yet "But I need to know who I'm trusting to keep me safe!"

The petting continued, apparently, his owner was ready to dismiss his questions as worry and not disrespect. Though, what he got felt more like a reprimand than an answer "You'll learn who I am by being with me, not by asking me a thousand questions."  
The hand in his hair clenched, producing a warning tug "You need to stop thinking like you are still your own person, Akihito. You don't need to worry about my business because it doesn't matter. You're mine. All your problems are mine and all your pleasures. You don't get to watch out for yourself anymore, kitten." The hand abandoned its grip on his hair to gently massage his neck.  
"If something scares you, I take care of it. You spot and deal with threats anymore. All you get to do is to tell me about it." 

An anxious flutter started in Aki's belly. "But if you're not there and someone tries to"-  
The hand on his neck squeezed. "No one will harm you. I have connections here that keep you safe, even when I'm not with you."  
Aki swallowed convulsively. Somehow, being told to stop worrying was harder than all the other things he had to deal with since their arrangement started. How could he stop looking out for himself?  
"But I"- he startled at a firm press of a kiss on his lips.  
"Hush. Relax and let me tell you how this situation could have gone, Akihito."

It was hard to stop his whirring thoughts enough to listen to the man. How was he supposed to stop to look out for himself?  
How was that normal?  
How was he supposed to live after prison, if he got used to that? No one would keep him safe out there!

The rumbling baritone close to his ear had taken a gentle, soothing tone. "You were scared when I ignored you all afternoon, weren't you?"  
Aki managed a small nod.  
"Good boy" he was rewarded with a teasing kiss below his ear. "If you would have told me that right away, kitten, I would have stopped ignoring you. I would have told you that I have business to deal with, but that I wasn't angry with you. I would have sent you to the shower, to relax those tense muscles and sat you down on my lap, while I continued to think. I never mind having my pretty little pet close to me."

A pink blush was high on Aki's cheeks "Like now?"  
The pleased chuckle vibrated through his body "Like now, kitten. But you could have had it all afternoon. Warm and comfortable on my lap, being petted and soothed as my good, spoilt little pet."  
The blush only worsened at the longing Aki felt.  
He had never been one to crave to be spoiled, but prison had put things into a different perspective. These past few years he hadn't allowed himself much comfort, not when Kou couldn't have any. Overwhelmed and scared as he was now, he had to accept the comfort and it was addicting.  
Trying to become an active part of the conversation again, Aki pressed a shy kiss on the man's cheek. "Thought you wanted to domesticate me."  
"I do" he very nearly purred at the renewed massage, this time for his lower back. "But my little stray can only enjoy rougher play if it knows that it is a game." The dropping octave of Asami's voice sent a pleasant shiver down Aki's spine "I'm going to make you mine, Akihito. Completely. You'll crave my touch and my attention and you'll become stronger for it. I'm going to make a fierce, loyal little pet of you. And when you get out, you'll be prepared and confident enough to face anything that awaits you." 

The sincerity in his owner's voice was impossible to miss. "You want to make me stronger?"  
"Of course. You want to make something out of yourself when you get out, Akihito. And I will push you as hard as I must to get you there."  
Fuck.  
Aki felt hot tears welling up in his eyes. No one had cared about his future in a while, himself included. All that had mattered up to this point was to get out and to get some kind of job to send as much money to Kou's parents as possible.  
He knew that no amount of money or effort would ever let them forgive him, but he had to try. He had to try to take care of them in Kou's place, even if they refused him.  
"I just want to work, when I get out. I don't care what I do, as long as I can send some money"- his voice gave out. He couldn't say it, still.  
"You will, Akihito." The sincerity was still present, still messing with his emotions. "You will get good grades and you will start to apply for jobs as soon as your release date is coming up. Until then, I will teach you how to succeed, no matter the odds against you."

"Why do you care?"  
"Because it will please me to have owned someone powerful, little pet." The intensity of Asami's voice chased the tears away, to make room for an intangible mess of emotions.  
Then, the man was back to speaking into his ear "And because you deserve to have someone who cares for you, Akihito. You are better than you give yourself credit for."  
It was weird to revisit that notion again...  
Before he could even try to get any kind of answer out, he was kissed soundly on the lips. "Are you ready to go take a shower and move on from this?"  
"Together?" Their shower had been interrupted, after all.  
"No. Just to get yourself cleaned up and relaxed." Aki hesitated.  
"Could I... stay here for a moment?" After being ignored for most of the afternoon the close contact felt heavenly. 

"Of course." Asami started to pet his hair. "We can sit here until you are ready to move again."  
"I don't have the best track record with your shower." Aki didn't even know if he was confessing a fear or trying to lighten the mood. Out of the three times he had used it, two times had ended with him scared and huddled into the corner of the shower stall.  
"I know." Asami took a sip of his tea. "I'd be happy to watch you, while you use it, Aki."  
A questioning look prompted Asami to continue. "I didn't mean to hurt you this morning. I just wanted to get between you and whoever was trying to get into my bathroom."  
A lock of hair was brushed away from his face "And I didn't mean to leave you alone the other day. But I had to get Koji as far away from you as I could. Leaving you alone and sending Tao to check up on you was better than letting you get caught in the crossfire." 

Aki started to nervously bite his lips. On one side, he had been aware - assuming - that Asami had been trying to protect him... on the other side, hearing the man confirm it made something unclench in his belly.  
Asami cared, as scary as he could be.  
"You'd really watch me while I take a shower?"  
"Yes. I would wait in the doorway, to make sure no one can get to you. I'd even let you choose which way I would turn." The familiar teasing was coupled with more scratched to his scalp. The man could really make him feel like a kitten...

"You wouldn't be mad if I asked you to turn your back to me, then?"  
A dry chuckle made him abandon his lip chewing for a tentative try at a smile. "Just a little disappointed, kitten. I look forward to seeing you relax, knowing that I'm watching you."  
Of course, he did. "But I will take care of every problem in your way... even if it's only a scary shower stall." The voice was teasing, yes, but not mocking him. 

"It will take me a while to deal with that, to... understand that you mean it."  
It would take him quite a while to somehow form an image of his owner in his mind that he could really trust. There were so many hidden and surprising sides to this man, that he wasn't sure which one he would encounter next.  
"That's alright. Before you leave this place, you will walk to the end of the abyss with me without fear. No matter how dark it gets, Akihito, you'll know I'll keep you safe."

*** 

Two hours later found him showered and wrapped in his owner's comforter. Asami had indeed remained in the doorway with his back towards him, a big, looming presence watching over him.  
It was hard to wrap his head around it.  
This man, this dangerous, ruthless man who only kept him around for his own needs deigned his silly fear important enough to stand around in a doorway for fifteen minutes. 

Aki wanted to make it up to him, somehow.  
But he didn't have much to give. Not in general and especially not today.  
If he could really trust his owner, though, then he didn't need to either.

"Thank you." 

"You're welcome." Asami remained at the table with his book and another cup of tea.  
The man had returned to his chair after wrapping him in the comforter and telling him to go to sleep if he wanted to. The distance was weirding Aki out. Asami had always been all over him, as soon as they were alone.

It didn't take more than five minutes for him to start freaking out again.  
"Asami-sama?" he took a calming breath.  
The man acknowledged him with a smoldering glance over his teacup. "Yes, Akihito?"  
"This... is weird." Good job, Takaba. 

"What is?" Finally, he had his owner's undivided attention again. Not that he really had any idea why he wanted it in the first place...  
He could do this. "You- you ignored me all afternoon and now you're -kind of - ignoring me again." For a second, he allowed his eyes to flick away from that unnervingly stoic face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, pet." For some reason, whatever Asami had to say was important enough to close his book and fully turn towards him. "I just don't enjoy regretting things."  
"Regret?" A cold kind of uncertainty seemed to close its fist around his belly.  
Asami relaxed into his chair "I don't enjoy being subjected to strip searches and friskings. Neither do I enjoy seeing my property being tossed around and intimidated by strangers. And I don't suffer fools like Koji and Fuiji very lightly." The relaxed position of his body was at counterpoint to the carefully controlled tone of his voice.  
"Normally, I eliminate the cause of my annoyance, Akihito. I can't do that here. " Recently relaxed muscles started to tense up again, against Akihito's will. He was not in danger. Intellectually, he knew that. His body just didn't believe it yet.  
"Here, all I can do is distract myself." Asami took another sip of his tea. "And you are the exactly the kind of distraction that might take my mind off of killing people."

Okay, he had to ignore the last part of that sentence.  
"Why are you staying away from me, then?"  
That got him a smirk "Because I won't feel like holding back once I get my hands on you in my bed, kitten." The smirk smoothed out "Even if you feel safe enough to give up your ass to me, you shouldn't do it tonight. I don't have very much patience left." 

For a while, they both remained silent.  
"What can I do?" Aki couldn't suppress the shiver in his voice.  
Taking care of Asami was his job. He wouldn't flake on his part of their arrangement, not after his owner had spent a quarter of an hour stuck in a doorway because of him.

The heated once over he received chased away some of his uneasiness.  
Asami was in control enough to keep himself away from him. He wouldn't just jump him because he asked for instructions. 

"Go to sleep. I'm not going to ravish you while you are out cold." The man's logical side was clearly talking but the tension in his body was telling him something entirely different.  
The larger than life, predatory energy that had him want to run away when he had met the man was simmering just below the surface. His owner must have suppressed it while comforting him, but he was clearly at the end of his rope. 

How had he not seen this?  
How had he missed how much Asami had been holding back all day?  
"But how are you going to sleep like this?"  
Aki's hands were clammy and the tremor in his voice was unmistakable, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. Yes, he was scared but he also wanted to do his job, goddamit!

"Not much. I'm ready to take a bit of sleep deprivation over terrifying you again, kitten."  
It was honestly unfair how calm the bastard remained, although the day had admittedly been a strain on him. 

Asami took care of him - he had proven that today - Aki would be damned if the bastard managed to talk him out of keeping his promise!  
"I don't want you to." A questioning eyebrow rose on the handsome face. "I'm your damn pet. You shouldn't hold back on my account."  
An incredulous chuckle sounded through the silent room. "Are you really trying to talk me into putting my hands on you, Akihito?"

Aki mulishly ignored the anxiety in his belly "I guess, I am."  
He stubbornly trained his eyes on smoldering golden ones, when the man rose and stalked towards him.  
Putting his head back, he held their eye contact until Asami came to a stop at the edge of the bed.  
"My brave kitten" a strong grip on the back of his neck kept him in place when he jumped at the sudden touch. The pride and slight amusement, mixed with the raw hunger he could make out on his owner's face let a whole slew of emotions well up in his chest.  
He wanted to see that pride, as often as possible. 

"Are you sure you want me to be selfish tonight?"  
For the first time, the man's restraint became annoying. He was anxious and tired and running on more bravado than the wanted to admit; he didn't need to be questioned right now.  
"Yes." That imperious eyebrow rose again. Aki bit his lip, his bravado had clearly been noticed. "I need to do something for you." This time, the anxiety was much easier to hear in his voice.  
"Better." The hand on his neck moved to cup his face. "You don't want me to fuck you but you won't be happy if I just hold back completely, hm?"

Pretty much. Aki nodded.  
"There... There's other stuff you could do, right?" A pervert who could enjoy spanking people surely could come up with something to do...  
"Of course." For a second, hint of a smile showed on the edge of Asami's smirk. "I can think of a few."  
"Good." He took a fortifying breath, then he raised his gaze back from the smirking mouth to blown eyes. "Then pick one and do it, 'cause I'm not skimping out on my word." 

The hand let go of his cheek. "Get naked and lay down on the bed, Akihito."  
Asami had clearly come to a decision, the calm authority was back in full force. With a nod, Aki threw off the comforter and pushed his boxers down his legs. Ignoring the sound of buttons being pulled open, he laid back.  
He had no idea what Asami wanted, but apparently, he wanted to undress for it.

Seconds later, large hands were grabbing and re-positioning him on the mattress. His head was put on the pillow, arms close to his sides and legs closed.  
"Good boy." He kept his eyes on the mattress, as his owner's overall was thrown in the direction of the table. Next, another garment, very likely his underwear, followed. 

Then, the mattress dipped and the man's face appeared above him. "I need you to stay still for me, kitten."  
He had no idea what Asami planned to do, but not moving sounded manageable. "Okay."  
His belly dipped inwards with an involuntary gasp for air, when a leg was suddenly slung over his middle.  
Within moments, the man was astride his upper belly, boxing in his arms. He was clearly keeping most of his weight off him, still, feeling the hard muscle of his legs against his body, it was hard to fight back the thoughts of just how dangerous this man could be.

"Look at me, Akihito." The sensual growl was returning to the previously controlled voice when Aki complied.  
He was looking up a chiseled torso, into a focused, heated gaze. "Good, keep looking at me."  
Aki frowned, about to ask for clarification, when the eyes he had been looking into closed. Then, movements caught his attention.  
Asami's arm was moving. He followed the arm with his gaze until he had to bend his had towards his chest. 

"A-" He choked on his words when he saw what the man was doing.  
His owner was touching himself.  
"Asami-sama?" he let his head fall back on the pillow, his cheeks burning. Asami was jerking himself off. On top of him.  
A half-lidded gaze was immediately back on his face. "You want to beg me to stop, pet?"

Aki's breath hitched "No." No, he wanted to do this. He wanted Asami to feel better.  
That beautiful mouth pulled into a smirk "No? You are just a polite boy, hm?"  
Asami's other hand came up to his face, his thumb stroking over his lips. "My good, brave little pet."  
The gentle touch, paired with the praise in the heated growl let a pleasant bout of arousal start in his belly. Asami wouldn't take it too far. 

His gaze flicked to the arm, moving in the corner of his eyes. He didn't dare to look down, though.  
He could feel strong thigh muscles flex against his sides, could feel the ghost of a thrust just a centimeter over his belly.  
His eyes must have closed for a second - they flew open when the mattress dipped next to his face. The hand had left his cheek and was now grabbing the pillow.  
The accompanying change in Asami's movements made him squirm.  
Each thrust was a press of strong thighs against his rib cage, a muscular butt and full balls grazing his chest- 

All of that was nothing compared to the way Asami was looking at him.  
His squirming had been noticed. And approved of.  
Aki bit off a whimper when a nearly subvocal growl made the body above him vibrate. "Such a good pet."  
Golden eyes were boring into his with predatory intent, while he could feel every thrust shaking his body.  
Then, warm fluid dribbled onto his chest, drawing his gaze down. Pre-come was dripping onto his sternum. His cock twitched; Asami would really get off like this.  
He was keeping his promises. He was a good pet. 

"Such a good boy." He looked up again, shivering at the pleasure in the man's voice. He was doing good.  
"So brave, begging me to use you when I try to hold back." The movements became rougher, bigger. Asami was really going to come like this!

His gaze kept jumping between those intense eyes and that big, hard cock, moving just shy of his skin. He wanted his owner to come, badly.  
He didn't even care where he just wanted-  
"Where do you want it, Aki?" the smirk wasn't mocking him, it was drawing him in even more.  
"On your chest?" The hand next to his head moved to his sternum. "On your nipples, maybe?" He pressed his chest into the petting hand. Then, a fingernail flicked a hardened nipple and made him hiss. Oh please, let those fingers stay there a bit longer!  
"Though that's probably not enough for you, is it? They need a bit more, don't they?" The fingers stayed, for a moment. Squeezing, stroking and pinching him until his squirming increased.

"How about your cock, pet?" Aki nearly swallowed his tongue, when the hand followed the words again. His half-hard cock was stroked into full hardness in seconds.  
First, the hand was warm and dry and giving him just a little bit too much friction. Until he the man dragged his own cock over his belly, up to his throat. He could feel himself get wet in Asami's hand, the friction decreasing.  
"Open your eyes."  
It was hard to open his eyes, knowing he would be looking in Asami's face again. When he managed it, he was rewarded with a long stroke of his owner's hand.  
"Good boy. You liked it when I came all over you, didn't you?" Gods, yes. He had liked it. Angling for another reward, he forced himself to speak. "Yes, Asami-sama."

For a second, the man just pinned him with a heated look, then a surprised chuckle reached his ears. "You are really courageous today, aren't you?"  
Thankfully, his plan worked. The hand moved again. "Are you just trying to get off or do you really want to show me how good you are, kitten?"  
Could he get both? Please?  
But if he had to choose... "Want to be good." He was breathless and embarrassed but Asami's reaction was so worth it.  
He was on the receiving end of a gorgeous, feral smirk. "You want to be a good boy tonight. I should reward that."  
They both felt Aki's cock jerk in Asami's hand, at the mention of a reward and the teasing squeeze it was given seconds later.  
"You will earn your reward, won't you, kitten?"  
Aki nodded, at first, but couldn't resist prodding Asami a bit more. Seeing Asami so... unhinged... while feeling entirely safe was thrilling.  
"Yes, Asami-sama."  
He didn't even know if he was moaning because of the hand on his cock or the balls brushing his chest, his body was caught between two poles of pleasure he didn't wish to choose between.  
"I want to come on your face, Aki. Can you take that for me?"

That brought Aki's heated thoughts to a sudden stop. On his face?  
"How about your pretty mouth, pet?"  
As soon as the words left Asami's lips, Aki bit his. Could he let Asami come in his mouth?  
Did he want that?  
Despite his arousal, Aki was reeling. Did he want that?

Pleasure pulled him out of his thoughts, his owner had started to move his hand again.  
Asami obviously wanted it. And he wanted to please him, badly.  
"Okay." His mouth had already decided for him, then. 

"Good" the satisfied rumble sent a delicious shiver down his spine, immediately followed by more pleasure when the man's hand sped up.  
The long, fast pulls were already steadily pushing him towards his orgasm when Asami decided to add his voice to the mix. "Come for me, kitten. Show me how good you are for me."  
That did it. After the day he had had, his nerves were shot and being told to let go was the release he needed. He came with a relieved sigh, floating on endorphins and egged on by praise.

When he came to it again, the first thing he felt, was the warmth of Asami's body close to his face.  
When he opened his eyes, he had to strain his neck to look at the man's face again. Asami was looking down at him with a scalding gaze, entirely focused on his face.  
"Back with me, kitten?" Gods, as sexy as his owners rumbling growl was, that slightly breathless voice was incredible as well. Especially paired with that arrogant, gorgeous look on his face...  
He nodded, keeping his eyes on his face. "Good. Open your mouth for me?"  
Asami was truly asking. He would probably just come on his face if he kept it closed, but... it mattered.  
He didn't hesitate for long, he just opened it.  
He wanted to know how it felt.  
And he needed to see his owner's reaction. 

He kept catching the movements of Asami's arm in his peripheral vision, too focussed on his face to let his eyes wander downwards.  
He couldn't miss his expression when he came. He had to see it. 

And half a minute later, his patience was rewarded.  
A low groan left the man's mouth, but his eyes remained open, trained on his face.  
And then he could feel Asami's warm come on his tongue. Although he had been expecting it, he was startled. Both by the sudden spurts landing on his tongue and the taste.  
The rest of it landed on his face and for a few moments, he was unsure how to react. 

But then, Asami's weight left his body and he was cradled against his body. The way his owner was looking at his face-  
"Gorgeous." A confused sound left his mouth, as a hand on his chin pulled his mouth open before it was ravished.  
Asami definitely liked it. 

*** 

A few minutes later, he was still held close to the man's chest. Cuddled, petted and safe. Spoiled.  
Aki buried his face in Asami's chest and took a deep breath. "Are you feeling better?"  
A kiss landed on the crown of his head. "Yes", the scratches to his scalp nearly made him purr, "I feel a lot better." The low laugh that followed was even better.  
He had kept his part of their bargain and he had done well.  
He had finally done something well again, after all these years.


	12. Baiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, dears.
> 
> So, one of my pets died between this chapter and the last.  
> I took a break from writing to grief for a while but now I think I can continue with this story.  
> Hope you're all having a good start into the week!

The following day promised to be just as boring as its predecessor, with Asami reading most of the day away, while Aki unsuccessfully tried to get rid of a stain under the table.  
It stretched on in endless boredom until it was suddenly shot to pieces by a single sound. 

The rolling, followed by a clang, seemed to shake the whole building; or that was just Aki's imagination.  
Their door had suddenly opened again. And apparently not only theirs, as proven by the sudden appearance of Suoh in their doorway.  
The giant seemed to be totally at ease with the sudden change, calmly waiting to be acknowledged at Asami's doorstep. 

When his owner finally closed his book and nodded at his associate, Suoh entered the cell with long strides. But before he could open his mouth to say what he obviously wanted to, he was stopped by a glance of the, now steely, golden eyes.  
"Akihito, go and do the laundry, bedding, and towels too. Mine, Suoh's and yours. Now." Nothing for his ears, then.  
With a nod, he rose from under the table and hurried over towards the bathroom corner they had been using as an improvised hamper for the last two days. He tried not to let his surprise - or initial chagrin - at also doing Suoh's laundry show on his face. 

Laden with underwear, overalls, socks, towels, rags, tea towels and two sets of sheets, pillowcases, and blankets, he stumbled his way down one flight of stairs to the laundry room.  
Out of the corner of his eye, he discovered an unclaimed washing machine an plunked his mountain of washing down with a sigh. He'd be running two machines and just as many dryers today. Folding was probably on his schedule as well... 

As Asami had probably sent him away to have an uninterrupted discussion with Suoh, he kept himself busy in the laundry room.  
While he waited for his two machines to finish their half an hour cycle, he started to wash out the detergent compartments of the other empty machines. Someone had to do it, after all...  
While the dryers were running, he cleaned the machines he had previously used and finally decided to just sweep the damn room as well.  
His previous warden would probably be proud: prison was turning him into a productive member of society.  
Or rather, Asami was. Though the warden would likely deny that, no matter how true it was.

*** 

As Aki had expected, the yard was bustling. After the lockdown, everyone was eager to get some fresh air and ready to jump back into prison politics and economy.  
He had been in Fuchu for barely two weeks, yet Aki already knew just how much was going on behind bars. No details, no, but enough to know that there was a whole society crammed into the sprawling building.  
There were merchants, messengers, clans, families, rivalries, and outcasts, all competing for their place in the ever-changing ecosystem of the prison. 

In some way, that first day out in the yard again felt weirdly relaxing.  
He didn't have to jump into anything or watch anyone. He had his place and it was secure.  
All he had to do, was to stay in Asami's or Suoh's view and he'd be fine.

Staying in the men's view was extremely easy, considering their strategic position in the yard.  
Asami and Suoh had been joined by Feilong and Yoh shortly after they sat down on the highest tear of stair-like benches at the far end of the fenced-in square of concrete.  
This position allowed him to use a few of the lower tears and the other banks close-by to finally practice his parkour skills again. He hadn't been able to really run or jump in a while; first, because he was bound by the constant order and discipline of the school, then because he didn't dare to move freely, fearing to be grabbed.  
Now that he was finally able to enjoy himself again, he didn't hold back. 

At first, he had tried to talk to Tao, but had soon given up. His friend seemed content to sit at Feilong's feet and be petted. Apparently, he really didn't mind being cooped in with his owner at all.  
So, unsure what to do, Aki found himself fidgeting more and more until he was given an unsubtle nudge by Asami and told to "Run along, pet."  
He couldn't even be mad at the amused glances he was receiving - he could finally enjoy being outside again!

His muscles were screaming at him and he was as shaky as a newborn colt by the time he was done. It was heaven.  
A heaven all thanks to the watchful eyes of his owner.  
Despite his excitement, Aki had been aware of the few men who had kept their eyes on him, following his every move. He had also become aware of how quickly they averted their eyes again.  
Asami had been right: no one would touch him. They barely even leered at him anymore. 

"Akihito." Asami's confident baritone pulled him out of his musings. As his muscles had started to shake, he had sat down to enjoy the sunlight for a while.  
He suppressed a sigh at having to move again and made his way up the stairs until he was at eye-level with the seated man.  
"Asami-sama?" There were eyes on them, subtle as they were. He wouldn't give those mongrels any reason to doubt Asami's control over him. 

He could make out the ghost of a smirk on that stoic face. "Get yourself something to drink, kitten." Aki reflexively held out his hand, when Asami extended his arm towards him. Tokens for the prison commissary were dropped into his hand.  
"Yes, Asami-sama." It was impossible to suppress his embarrassment. He had just been given lunch money, like a child. Before he could start his descend down the stairs, though, he was addressed again.  
"And get yourself some sweets. Whatever you like." Now the amused twinkle was at odds with the seriousness of the man's voice "You were very good, last night." 

For a moment, indignation rose up in his stomach, at being put so blatantly on display... until it occurred to him that this was probably Asami's goal.  
He wasn't put on display to humiliate him.  
He was put on display for the rest of the population, to keep them from doubting his owner's claim. 

He allowed himself a quick breath before replying. Other pets were sitting at their owners' feet or even polishing their shoes; Asami was being gentle.  
"Thank you, Asami-sama." It wasn't much more than a mumble, but it was enough. The little twinkle of pride in the golden eyes was worth the embarrassment, tenfold. 

"Good boys get rewards." The slight drop in the rumbling voice sent a happy shiver through his body- he had pleased the man. Greatly.  
Aki tried giving him a smile, then turned and started to make his way down the stairs. His muscles were aching already and he was enjoying every twinge and pull in his body.  
He could finally feel himself again.

At the commissary, his good mood lessened dramatically. What was he supposed to get?  
How much was he allowed to get?  
Did Asami want him to get a big bottle of water or a small one?  
How much money did he have anyway?

Aki had never even looked at what the commissary was offering. He hadn't had any money to put into his account in exchange for tokens, so looking at exchange rates and prices had only seemed like torture to him.  
Why think about something he couldn't have anyway?  
Now his decision to spare himself the pain came to bite him in the ass. He didn't want to disappoint Asami, especially not while out on that yard...

"You Asami's pet?"  
He startled when the white-haired inmate who worked the commissary addressed him. "Yes."  
"How much you got?" The man nodded at his clenched fist, nervously guarding the tokens. Slowly, his hand unclenched and he dropped the plastic coins onto the service hatch.  
Immediately, the man started to count, then nodded at him. "You got 25. What do you need?"  
"Something to drink. And candy." Oh, Gods, he couldn't even shop on his own...  
"Okay. You like chocolate?"  
He nodded. Immediately, the man grabbed a middle-sized chocolate bar and a litre bottle of water. "Suoh always gets this kind of water for him."  
Aki was pretty sure he could have kissed the inmate. As long as he was not trying to set him up. Though, that was probably unlikely, as pranking Asami didn't seem like a good idea.  
"I'll take that then. That's 25, then?" It would have been nice to bring some change back to his owner but-  
"Here. It's 10. Here's your change."  
Aki grabbed the coins the wrinkled hand indicated and clutched the water bottle and the chocolate to his chest.  
If anyone would have told him years ago that buying water and candy from a store could be scary, he would have laughed in their face. Not anymore though.

The closer he got to Asami, the more his anxiety increased.  
He really wanted to get this right.

The first thing he did, once he made it up the stairs was to offer his owner the hand with the change.  
The immediate praise he received was a relief. "Good boy." The genuine smile that was lurking around the corners of Asami's eyes was worth all the hand-wringing. He had done well.  
"What did you get, Aki?" And he even got his nickname, no pet or kitten.  
He mutely showed off the water and chocolate he bought.  
"Good. Sit."

At the clipped order, the nervousness churned back up in his belly. To be safe, he mirrored Tao. He sat down a step below his owner, next to his feet.  
He tried his best not to startle when the water was taken out of his hands. With a click, the bottle was opened and he could hear Asami taking long pulls from it.  
Asami had told him to get himself something to drink, right?  
Before he could start to doubt himself too much, the mouth of the bottle was nudging his lips. A glance towards the man's face revealed a stoic, subtly benevolent expression. Was this some kind of test?

With a confused noise, Aki followed the silent prompt and latched onto the bottle. After a few gulps, it was released back into his hands.  
While he was still busy trying to decide whether to drink more or ask Asami for the bottle top, the chocolate was taken out of his hand. 

Since when did his owner like sweets?  
If the minuscule edge of displeasure around his mouth was any indication, he still didn't. That didn't keep him from polishing off one row of the chocolate bar, though.  
The chocolate was dropped back into his lap as well.  
Asami must have caught his look of confusion, as a sudden whisper in his ear finally enlightened him "Obedient pets always give up their food for their owner, kitten." He straightened up again with a louder "Good pet" and scratches to his scalp.

After that, Aki was free to enjoy his water and treat at his leisure.  
He spent the afternoon sharing his chocolate with a, first hesitant, Tao and silently talking about everything but their last two days. Neither of them was really comfortable discussing that in public.

*** 

"So, were you still at Feilong's when the lockdown started?"  
Aki thought as much, what with Tao dancing around the subject of the last two days just as much as he had himself.  
"Yes. I was with Feilong-sama." 

For a few minutes, that was all Tao had to say about the matter. Then, he could hear him sit up in his bunk. Apparently, he did have something he wanted to talk about.  
"Thank you for the chocolate." And he wasn't ready to talk about it yet.  
"Of course." Aki hesitated for a moment. "I can do what I like with my rewards... except gambling or selling them."  
Silence. They were both unsure how to proceed: Tao was obviously hand-wringing over addressing something and Aki was unsure if he was allowed to ask his friend about rewards. 

"Is... is it okay that I share them with you? For you, I mean?" Aki wasn't good at tip-toeing around a subject for long.  
"Yes." Tao sounded somewhat choked-up. As if a few dozen words were stuck in his throat, desperately trying to get out.  
"You share with me because you're my friend." The blanket was moving again "So, it's okay. You share with me because we're friends."  
When no more movements or words followed, Aki decided to just ask what he wanted to know. "And if Feilong gave you candy to share with me? Would that be okay, too?"

He could actually hear the gulp that question caused. Then, stuttering followed "I... I'm not... It's not that I d- don't want to share with you, Aki... I"-  
He desperately wanted to climb up into Tao's bunk to reassure his friend but he was afraid of rattling him further. "It's okay, Tao. Asami gives me enough candy to share. I really don't mind."

For a whole minute, he could hear nothing but rapid breathing from the bed above him.  
"It's..." Tao took a steadying breath. "I got here seven months before Feilong-sama, Aki. Seven months. And"- The slight edge of panic in his voice made him wish he hadn't ask.  
"You don't have to tell me"-  
"You'll find out anyway. And I don't want you to hear it from anybody else." The panic had abated a bit. Now, Tao just sounded tired, a kind of tired that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion at all. 

"I held out for four days, then I got cornered by a gang. Eight men. I just couldn't do anything, Aki. I really couldn't."  
Of course, he couldn't have. If he had been in Tao's situation he would have been just as screwed.  
"Their leader made me his pet and rented me out to his friends whenever he wanted. It's..." Tao seemed to scramble for words for a moment. "Just fucking one person is hard enough, being told to just fuck random people is... it's just too much."

Aki tried making a neutral noise to let Tao know he was listening. Trying to sound like his heart wasn't racing or as if he wasn't dying to hug his friend and never let him go again.  
"When he was in a bad mood, he made me do stuff to earn basic things. Like water or food. Or going to the toilet.  
After four months, I was just done. I just couldn't do it anymore. I stopped eating... I just wanted to die, Aki. Just to make it stop."  
He clenched his fist so hard, his nails were cutting into his skin.  
"Then he started to give me candy everytime anyone fucked me. To cheer me up. And I just..." Tao was lost for words again, for a few seconds. "It was worse. He turned something I always liked into something bad." 

"And now, when someone tries to give me something only for me, I freak out. It's like... I have no self-respect and they see it and treat me like it." Wait, what?  
Before Aki could decide whether asking was a good idea, Tao soldiered on. "I let them do all that stuff and everyone here knows it. And when someone gives me candy, it's like they are saying 'I know what you did'."  
They spent another minute in silence until Akihito couldn't hold himself back anymore. "You know you didn't let them do shit, right? You had no choice!" He could empathize with the anguish Tao must be feeling, but he couldn't let him think for even a second that he put any blame on him.  
A mirthless laugh sounded "Yeah, I know. It just doesn't feel like it. It'll probably take one hell of shrink to help me fix that."

"After those seven months, Feilong came to Fuchu, right?" He really wanted to steer Tao to happier thoughts.  
"Yes." The slight warmth in his friend's voice made his fist unclench again. "A week before he came, the gang dropped me. They said I was used up... keeping a pet around that doesn't eat isn't worth it. And I was sick anyway.  
After that, I was... condemned. No one looked out for me. I had nothing, got nothing and still had people coming after me. I went to the infirmary to get some help and was kept for a few days."  
The warmth returned full force to his voice "When I returned to general population, I had gained some weight and was still on meds. I was scared to find out what they'd do now.  
But then, during yard time, I saw him."

Tao's voice was nearly back to normal now. "You haven't seen him like he was then, Aki. Feilong-sama was still showing everyone not to mess with him. I was terrified of him.  
He's like a fucking ninja. The first day, a guy in the yard tried to make him give up his spot and he just... he barely even touched him, but the guy had to go the infirmary. " The obvious hero-worship coaxed a little smile back on Aki's lips.  
"At the end of his first week, he had the backing of most Chinese gang members in Fuchu and people started to get word that he's a really big player. Even the Yakuza kept away from him.  
So I... I kept to his corner of the yard. Tried to not let him notice me, but to stay close enough that no one dared to come for me.  
After two days like this, Yoh came over and brought me in to talk to Feilong-sama. He... he had collected some info about everyone at this point, so he knew who I was.  
I thought he'd make me go away. But... he just looked at me for a moment and asked me how old I was. When I told him, he kind of... he looked pissed for a moment. And I don't even know what I said to him, I just tried to calm him down. Told him that it's alright and that I'm sorry but he just told me to be quiet. In Mandarin. And then he told me to sit down." 

For some reason, that prompted a giggle from his friend. An honest to God giggle. The sound was so startlingly positive after Tao's horrifying story, that he couldn't help but join in.  
"He kept me next to him the whole time." His friend was clearly reliving a fond memory right now. "When we had to get back inside, he told me that he'd like to keep me if I wanted." 

"I was terrified, Aki. I was so scared, I stood there like an idiot for five minutes. Until Feilong-sama told me to shake my head if I didn't want to. I just couldn't get myself to do it. I was terrified of Feilong but I had to do something. After a minute, he told Yoh-san to take me to the showers and make sure I eat lunch. I was so confused."  
Aki could relate. He was often confused at how much Asami seemed to care about making sure he showered, ate and had clean laundry but he had started to get used to it. Tao's previous owner probably didn't give a flying fuck about these things, so couldn't begin to imagine how confusing that must have been...

"I expected him to just use me in the showers or take my food away, but he just watched me. Like he always does.  
I never had that. The other gang members watched me but they always wanted something in return. Yoh-san just... he just did what Feilong-sama told him and didn't expect me to do anything but what I had been told to.  
When he took me up to Feilong-sama's cell, I thought that's it, he'd fuck me now but he didn't. I only had to clean his cell and do his laundry. And that didn't change for weeks." His friend sounded somewhat wistful.  
"For two weeks, I waited for the other shoe to drop but nothing happened."  
Didn't that sound familiar... He had expected his time with Asami to be like this, always waiting to ordered around by the man but then... Asami was way too open in his communication to make him stay on edge for long. 

"It was nearly two months before he let me brush his hair. I had never felt like I didn't do enough to earn my protection but at this point, I was desperate to do more for him." The little huff of annoyance made Aki smile. That was a sound he knew. Usually, it had been directed at their teachers and guards and they had shared a glance to commiserate in their annoyance. Apparently, Tao wasn't scared enough of his owner anymore to suppress all negative feelings, small as they were.  
"He kept rewarding me with tea, hygiene products, and warm showers without getting anything but a maid in return. It was driving me nuts... still does. But at least he started to let me do his hair and give him massages, sometimes." 

It was hard to imagine being in Tao's situation. Would he be relieved if Asami didn't want any sexual services from him? Or would he be just as... annoyed... as his friend was?  
He could hardly imagine it, though. Asami had been extremely clear about what he wanted. 

"It was weird, when Asami-sama came here, though."  
Aki frowned. So, Asami had come to Fuchu after Feilong, then.  
"Feilong-sama sent Yoh everywhere with me. He made sure that I never was alone, anywhere. It kind of made me scared of him."  
Weird. Hadn't Feilong acted like he trusted Asami?  
"Yoh was glued to my side for two weeks until Feilong had to send him to take care of something and I had to stay alone for a day. I stayed in my cell as much as I could but I had to get lunch eventually. That's when I tripped." Now his friend sounded sheepish.  
"And who picked me up at the end of the staircase? Asami-sama's blond giant. I was about to piss myself, Aki!"  
Oh, he could relate. Suoh was scary...though it was usually overshadowed by Asami's own brand of terrifying.  
"He just picked me up, brushed me off and walked me to Feilong-sama's cell." That sounded kind of terrifying, to be honest. If Suoh would have appeared out of thin air and snatched him up, he would have panicked too. 

"He took me to Feilong-sama's cell and just waited there. I sat there, in his cell, with Suoh-san and Asami-sama. I was scared that they would jump him, as soon as he came back, Aki."  
Aki could see why. If Feilong was a big player and Asami had just started to make his moves, taking Feilong out would be a first step to eliminate all competition.  
"When he came back with Yoh, he... Gods, he was terrifying, Aki! He just rushed in and tackled Asami to the ground. Suoh stood back, keeping Yoh away and I was left just watching. They beat up on each other for a minute, until Asami had Feilong-sama pinned. He was about to flip them when Asami-sama started talking. I don't know what he said, but they stopped fighting after that.  
Then they sat down, had me make tea and started talking business about something. I didn't see too much of them after, but I knew they were working with Feilong-sama."

"But I still didn't know much about them, so I was a bit worried when Feilong gave you to Asami-sama." A bit of uncertainty returned to his voice "But he's really treating you well, right?"  
"Yes." No two ways about it, Asami was a decent owner. "Feilong did the right thing."  
"Good." Tao sighed. "I was a bit worried when they started working together because Asami is pretty...intense and people backed off even more but seeing you feeling so much better made reconsider a bit. He seems decent, for a criminal." That prompted a snort from Aki: "Yes, because we're good, law-abiding citizens, Tao."  
He got a chuckle "Compared to them, we pretty much are, Aki."  
True. 

After a minute of relaxed silence, Aki addressed his friend again. "Thank you for telling me, Tao."  
"You're welcome." He could hear the hesitant smile in his friend's voice. "I'm glad you didn't have to find out from someone else."  
Aki bit his lips. The honesty between felt good, he didn't want to undermine it. "Feilong asked Asami if he could give me candy for you." 

Apparently, Tao needed a moment to digest that. Then he heard an exasperated sound from the top bunk. "He really wants to spoil me, huh?"  
"He does." Feilong really seemed to be a better man than he had given him credit for.  
"Thanks, Aki. I'll talk to him about it." They both hung onto their thoughts for a moment, until Tao moved on his bed. "So, what did you get up to with Asami the past two days?"  
"Ugh." He buried his face in his pillow. "Really, Tao?"  
"What?" Now, his friend was laughing at him. "I cleaned every millimeter of his cell, gave him a massage and got rejected when I tried to do anything more than kissing him. You probably had a lot more fun than me."

Aki was stunned, Feilong really rejected Tao? He had imagined the man would just never demand anything from his friend, not that he would outright reject him.  
"He rejected you?"  
"Yes." Now, Tao sounded embarrassed. "I've only got to blow him twice... If he isn't completely keyed up and I'm basically begging him, he always tells me no. I just don't know why."  
"Perhaps he just isn't interested?" This was weird.  
"He is." He heard a sigh. "I know he wants to. I can feel it when we make out. And for the first time, I want to. He is so good to me and I just want to give him that but... Apparently, he doesn't want to have regular orgasms."  
Aki narrowly avoided bursting out laughing. Tao was whining!  
"He might not believe that you really want it." That's what Asami had told him, right?  
"But I do." Tao was moving again "He is good to me, he is attractive and he always gives me space when I need it. I..." His friend took a deep breath "I know he'd make it good for me, too. And I don't want to get out of here, hating sex."  
Aki shut his eyes. Hearing it that stated as simply as that hurt, but he got what Tao meant. As much as he had hated it at first, Aki was glad that Asami wasn't turning sex into something to be terrified of and hate.

"Have you told him that?"  
"No." Aki frowned. "I don't want to force him if he has some kind of moral problem with it. I never want to do that to someone else."  
"But if he wants to, and you want it too, you're both not getting what you want."  
"I know" Tao sounded like someone who had been thinking about the same problem for a while now. "But how can I tell him that without making him feel like he has to?"  
Hm... "Perhaps you could tell Yoh?" That prompted a burst of laughter. "Oh yes, he'd love to relay that message! 'Feilong-sama, your pet told me he really wants you to fuck him. You don't need to worry anymore, he really wants it.' He'd love to tell him that!" 

He'd pay to see Yoh's face at that moment. Aki snorted "Yeah, probably not." Still, Tao had to do something, if he really wanted this.  
"But you have to tell him, somehow. Just tell him that you don't want him to do it if he really doesn't want to. He just doesn't need to hold back on your account."  
"Ugh. Can we please get back to what you got up to and mourn my lack of sex later? Or never again?" 

As much as he dreaded talking about it, Tao deserved to hear about his two days after opening up so much.  
Sighing, he decided to start at the top. So, spanking, then shower, then jerkingoffonhisface. Oh, Gods. 

The night ended with a very embarrassed Aki and a laughing, terribly curious Tao... and a promise to explain why enemas were a good idea, as soon as Aki didn't resemble a tomato anymore. 


End file.
